A Conover couple will spend 33 to 40 years in prison following their convictions for second–degree murder and related charges during Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
Cecil Ray Traylor Jr., 35, and Tara Melinda Jackson, 36, were given similar sentences in length for their roles in the September 28, 2025, robbery and death of decorated Vietnam War veteran David Burl Mize, along with concealment of his body.
The Honorable Athena F. Brooks, Superior Court Judge from Henderson County, imposed terms of the active sentences after Traylor and Jackson entered guilty pleas.
Traylor also pleaded guilty to charges for concealing a death, possession of a firearm by felon, robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of malicious starvation and fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle. He also admitted status as a habitual felon.
Jackson entered guilty pleas to concealing a death, possession of a firearm by felon, robbery with a dangerous weapon and two counts of malicious starvation, in addition to admission of habitual felon status.
The defendants will serve their periods of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Through multiple interviews with investigators, Traylor remained consistent with his version of what took place. However, Jackson provided multiple conflicting accounts of her involvement. Evidence and statements made by both defendants showed that they intended to rob Mize and were responsible for his death and concealment of his body.
Charlene Shatley, Mize’s daughter, addressed the Court and spoke of the kindness extended to the defendants by her father, welcoming them into his home and giving them a place to stay only to be betrayed and killed by them in the end.
“It is impossible to find words of the impact my father’s brutal murder has had on me and my family,” Shatley said. “The phrase, ‘One good deed does not go unpunished,’ has never rang truer than it does in the brutal murder of my dad.
“. . . God’s grace allows me to forgive the defendant. I only hope the defendant one day finds Jesus and makes Godly decisions.”
Deputies from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 75-year-old victim’s Swinging Bridge Road residence for a welfare check on October 21, 2025, four weeks after he was last seen at his bank and unable to be reached by phone.
They saw a blood smear along a path in the cluttered garage. When they entered the home, deputies found two deceased dogs, a malnourished dog and cat, animal feces and a state of general disorder at the residence. They located a pistol case, residue of pepper spray and a large safe open in a bedroom along with numerous empty gold and collector coin boxes.
In a bathroom, they found signs of a struggle, including pools of blood on the floor, toilet seat and vanity along with blood smears indicating that someone had tried to clean with towels. A blood-stained can of pepper spray also was found in a trash can.
Mize’s vehicle was towed from the parking area of Valley Hills Mall after it had been left in the parking garage for 13 days. Video surveillance showed Traylor leaving the vehicle on October 2, 2025, and getting in another vehicle registered to him.
Deputies responded to a towing company in Granite Falls where the vehicle was taken on October 15 and found Mize’s body in the rear hatch area of the vehicle. It was wrapped in a sleeping bag and in an advanced stage of decomposition. His head was covered in duct tape.
After Mize was last seen, Traylor was recorded selling coins at a pawn shop. He also was seen on video surveillance with Jackson and a small baby selling a phone that previously had belonged to the victim. In addition, he registered two vehicles in his name on September 30, 2025.
On October 21, 2025, troopers with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol initiated a pursuit of a vehicle driven by the Traylor that ended when it turned over and burst into flames. Jackson and the couple’s baby were also in the vehicle when it rolled over. The baby did not sustain injuries in the wreck.
A large number of gold coins from Mize’s residence were recovered from the trunk of the vehicle. Traylor had approximately $4,000 in his possession, and Jackson had roughly $15,000 along with numerous silver certificates.
Traylor told investigators that he knew the victim most of his life, and Mize allowed him, Jackson and the baby to stay at his residence for about two months before they moved out over the theft of a bracelet.
The couple planned to ask Mize for money and steal from him if he refused to give it to them. In interviews with law enforcement, both defendants admitted their intent to steal from the victim and acting with each other to take the coins and hide his body. They also profited from the acts as seen on video surveillance.
On the day they went to confront Mize, Traylor indicated that Jackson told him she maced the defendant to keep him from calling the police, then jumped on and started choking him to prevent him from getting a gun before striking him on the head with a hammer.
Jackson told investigators, among other things, that Traylor struck Mize in the area of the head and neck after the victim made a comment that angered her co-defendant. She claimed she threw a rock at Mize and when he stumbled into the bathroom wall, Traylor hit him in the head with a possible wrench.
Investigators were able to track numerous purchases and sales made by the couple after they robbed and killed Mize.
The cause of Mize’s death was determined to be asphyxiation; he had a plastic bag over his head when the body was examined. He also had evidence of being struck on the head.
Daniel Jenkins handled the investigation for the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorneys Howard Wellons and Ashlynn Nelson prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistant Meredith Scott.