NC - Rose Wynn, 53, dies of head injuries, Raeford, 4 June 2008

Emergency personnel alerted law enforcement because the injuries looked suspicious, he said...

The Wynns owned the Raeford home, but Sam Wynn lived mainly in Wake County, Peterkin said.

He said Sam Wynn would occasionally stay at the Raeford home on weekends and that the couple’s 10-year-old son lived with his mother.

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Rosemary “Rose” Todd Wynn, 51, was found unconscious Thursday morning in her home on the 500 block of Lake Ridge Road in Hoke County. She died later that evening at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville.

Investigators said she was attacked between 10:30 p.m. Wednesday and 7a.m. Thursday.

She had trauma to her head and numerous bruises and carpet burns on her body, family members said...

Capt. John Kivett, chief of detectives with the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office, said there are other persons of interest besides Wynn.

“We want to make sure the investigation is complete,” Kivett said. “We don’t want to get tunnel vision on anything. We want to do a thorough investigation.”..


Mrs. Wynn’s body was found by the couple’s 10-year-old adopted son, Christopher, and a friend of his who went to the house when Christopher failed to get to the bus stop on time. The mother of the friend called 911...

Family members say Wynn had an abusive history with Rose, although no charges were ever filed.

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The state Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled her death a homicide...

According to the affidavit, the couple’s 10-year-old child said his parents fought over the phone that night. The conversation was on speaker phone, the boy said, and he recognized his father’s voice.

The child also said he heard a thud around midnight but did not investigate it, according to the affidavit.

Anthony Jackson, Rose Wynn’s eldest son, told a detective that his mother called him the night of June 3 and said Sam Wynn had threatened her, the affidavit says.

The document says cell phone records show that Sam Wynn made a call to the couple’s Raeford residence about 8:22 p.m. June 3...

The couple had argued over who would take over the Raeford home if they separated, Castellon wrote, and “Samuel Wynn had made threats to kill Ms. Rosemary T. Wynn.”

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Hoke County authorities conducted a second search Tuesday at the home where Rose Wynn, 53, was found dead in June...

Authorities believe Rose Wynn was attacked and beaten at her home on June 4...

Investigators also found a $100,000 life insurance policy on Rose Wynn – her husband was listed as the beneficiary – and a deed to the Raeford house during a search of a house owned by Holland's United Methodist Church at 4701 Holland Church Road in Raleigh.

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The wife of a former Wake County pastor died from a blow to the head, according to an autopsy report...

An autopsy determined that Rose Wynn died of blunt force trauma to the head. She had two fractures across the top and back of her skull, according to the autopsy report.

"Although these findings are not typical of an accidental fall, that possibility cannot be excluded," the autopsy report concluded.

Rose Wynn had a history of prescription drug abuse and had been treated once for an accidental fall, according to the autopsy report. A toxicology report found elevated levels of painkillers in her blood, which could have played a role in any fall, the report concluded.

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In a statement Friday, Associate Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas B. Clark III said it is likely Wynn fell backward onto a brick floor in her home...

"Her death certificate will be amended to show that she died as a result of blunt force injury to the head due (to) a fall, and that the death is accidental," Clark said.

Peterkin said his office and the district attorney's office were not informed of any changes to the ruling.

"In my 20-plus years in law enforcement, I've never seen a medical examiner act this way. We're supposed to be on the same team," Peterkin said. "He is not respecting the fact that we have a death investigation."

Peterkin said he respects the medial examiner's opinion, but that the case is not closed.

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