Shatley murder

Those who knew student can't see why he was shot

Authorities still don't know if Ashe killing was random or if victim knew who shot him

November 23, 2005

By Monte Mitchell
JOURNAL REPORTER

GRASSY CREEK

Timothy Dwayne Shatley finished his first night of work at a new job Saturday - and was shot to death before he made it home.

People who knew him are baffled as to why anyone would want to kill Shatley, 30, a well-liked student who worked in restaurants and had nearly finished a culinary degree at Wilkes Community College.

"I knew he had a real good character and was a real good worker," said Allen Adams, the owner of Pa-Paw's Bar-B-Q in North Wilkesboro, who hired Shatley to start working this past weekend. "He seemed as happy as anybody that had ever worked for me on a busy Saturday night. He told me thanks for hiring him, and it looked like it was going to work out well."

Authorities don't know yet if Shatley's killing was random, or if he stopped his vehicle for someone he knew.

A passer-by saw Shatley's Chevy van wrecked against a bridge abutment in northern Ashe County and called 911 about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. When the first re-sponders arrived, they called in the death as a fatal vehicle accident.

Then they noticed a bullet hole in the driver's side door.

An autopsy yesterday showed that Shatley died of a single gunshot that passed through his body.

The shooting happened near construction of a new bridge to carry N.C 16 over the New River. Shatley lived nearby in the Grassy Creek community.

"We do feel like it may have possibly been somebody that knew him or somebody faking car trouble and flagged him over," said Maj. Steve Houck of the Ashe County Sheriff's Office. "We do feel like he stopped, and once the shooting started, he tried to accelerate out of there."

The van traveled north about 250 feet before hitting the abutment.

One bullet hit the body of the van, but others may have gone through glass. The bullets were found embedded in the vehicle and are being analyzed.

Authorities are asking for information from anyone who was in the area that night.

"They might have seen a vehicle speeding away or anything that might have drawn their attention," Houck said.

Anyone with information can call the sheriff's office at (336) 219-2501.