A Morganton man will serve life in prison without parole after he was found guilty of second-degree murder and murder of an unborn child at the conclusion of a nearly two-week trial in Burke County Superior Court on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
Dylan James Rogers, 32, was given the sentence after the jury returned guilty verdicts for the murder of 41-year-old Brandi Ransboltom Deal and the murder of her unborn child.
The Honorable Reggie McKnight, Superior Court Judge from Mecklenburg County, imposed terms of the active sentence after the jury delivered its verdict following three and a half hours of deliberation over two days.
The defendant will serve his period of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
“I want to thank the jury for their time, attention and service in the recent trial of State v. Dylan Rogers, who has now been convicted of second-degree murder and murder of an unborn child for the senseless deaths of Brandi Deal and her unborn child,” 36th Prosecutorial District Attorney Scott Reilly said. “This tragic case has weighed heavily on our community since the day it occurred more than two years ago. The defendant fired a shotgun into a home, showing complete disregard for human life, all because he was angry over a personal dispute.
“Today, justice was served. The jury’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for his actions, and the court’s sentence of life without parole reflects the seriousness of these crimes. No sentence can ever replace the lives lost or heal the pain felt by the victim’s family, but I hope this verdict brings some measure of closure.”
The trial started on March 31, 2025, with pretrial motions followed by jury selection and presentation of evidence by the State and defense. Closing arguments took place on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.
The deaths occurred on February 10, 2023. First responders arrived at the scene initially in response to a 911 call made by the victim’s boyfriend regarding cardiac arrest. However, they found Deal suffering from gunshot wounds. She and the baby later died from their injuries.
Investigators from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office interviewed multiple people about the shooting deaths and reviewed video surveillance footage from nearby cameras that showed the residence where Deal was shot and killed.
The victim’s mother declined to address the Court during sentencing but was appreciative of the hard work of the Burke County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office for the investigation and prosecution that brought justice to her family.
The Burke County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant District Attorneys Jason Smith and Jacquelyn Lane prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistants Brooklynn Byrd and Jeannie Bland.
“I want to thank the Burke County Sheriff’s Office for their dedicated work in investigating this case and the prosecutors in my office who spent countless hours preparing it for trial,” Reilly said. “We will continue to stand with the families of victims and fight to protect our communities from senseless acts of violence.”