Sheriff: Man shot dead in Lake Wylie is York County’s first homicide of 2016

York County’s first homicide of 2016 is so far unsolved after a 64-year-old man who lived on a dead-end road along the shore of Lake Wylie was found Wednesday with a fatal gunshot wound, police said.

Jesse Campbell, 64, whom neighbors and co-workers said operated Campbell’s Greenhouse and Nursery in Charlotte’s South End, was found by deputies in his house around 3:30 p.m. Campbell did not show up for work and a concerned co-worker went to the house and saw Campbell lying on the floor. Deputies called to the scene used an ax to break into the house, according to a police report.

The case remains a mystery as police have not had previous calls for service to the house and Campbell is not known to have any enemies either at his home at 9634 Pine Moss Lane or his business, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are trying to figure out what the motive is,” Faris said at the crime scene Thursday.

Sheriff Bruce Bryant said the homicide is not considered a random act of violence, but declined further comment as the probe continues. Crime scene technicians and detectives remained at the scene Thursday a full day after Campbell was found dead, but police so far have few leads and no witnesses

Police are hoping neighbors noticed “anything unusual” Tuesday or Wednesday that might help the investigation, Faris said.

The lakeside neighborhood has little crime, Faris said. However, he said the crime is not believed to be connected to the October 2014 slayings of Doug and Debbie London nearby in Lake Wylie. The Londons were killed by Charlotte Bloods gang members attempting to keep Doug London from testifying against them after the gang members robbed him earlier in 2014 at his south Charlotte store, police and prosecutors have said.

Campbell’s business, known for its orchids and other plants, is on McDonald Avenue, just east of South Boulevard in Charlotte’s South End district.

So far, police have not found any sign of robbery, break-in, or stolen merchandise from Campbell’s home, Faris said, and officials are still unsure how long Campbell had been dead when he was found.

A message on the answering machine at Campbell’s Greenhouse said the business was closed for the holidays and was not scheduled to re-open until Jan. 11.

According to a York County Sheriff’s Office report, employee Henry Koehler told officers on the scene he last spoke on the phone with Campbell at about 3:30 p.m. Jan. 5. Koehler said Campbell “never came to work” Jan. 6 and he tried to call several times that day, the report states. Koehler knew Campbell had a doctor’s appointment and called the office. He was told Campbell had missed the appointment.

Koehler went to Campbell’s wood-frame house – surrounded by lavish homes with lakefront access – and saw Campbell on the floor, then called police.

Campbell was found dead on the kitchen floor, police said.

Autopsy and toxicology testing was conducted Thursday morning but results can take several weeks, coroner’s officials said.

The home sits on a peninsula. Neighbor Carolyn Morrison said she received a call from another Pine Moss Lane neighbor who said “something disastrous had happened at the end of our street.”

Morrison, who said Campbell did some work for her, said of the crime: “I was just totally shocked.”

Morrison said she heard a gunshot Monday at about 6 p.m. She didn’t know if it had anything to do with the incident. There was no information from the Sheriff’s Office on Thursday connecting the incident to what Morrison heard.

“I didn’t even think about it because people are always shooting muskrats and stuff out here,” she said.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Sheriff: Man shot dead in Lake Wylie is York County’s first homicide of 2016."