Man sentenced to life without parole for shooting death of veteran
By Kristy Kepley-Steward
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MCDOWELL COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — A McDowell County man will spend the rest of his life in prison after entering a guilty plea to the 2020 shooting death of a local veteran.
On Nov. 4, 2022, Marvin Randall Hensley, 35, of Nebo, pled guilty in McDowell County Superior Court to first-degree murder in the shooting death of 85-year-old Carroll Franklin Eckard, also of Nebo.
On Aug. 19, 2020, detectives with the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into the death of Eckard after finding his body inside his home on Harmony Grove Road.
An autopsy later revealed that Eckard had died of a gunshot wound.
On Sept. 2, 2020, authorities announced the arrest of Hensley. Authorities said at the time that Hensley was acquainted with Eckard but have never provided a motive for the shooting.
A second person, Shannon Welch Simonds, 47, also of Nebo, is also in custody and charged with murder.
Simonds case is still pending in McDowell County Superior Court.
Eckard was retired from the military, having served in Vietnam, and earned a Purple Heart.
Hensley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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