Inset: Stephen Buchanan (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation). Background: The residence where Buchanan buried his slain uncle in Cleveland, N.C. (Google Maps).
A North Carolina man will spend several decades behind bars for killing his septuagenarian uncle and then trying to hide the victim”s body in his own backyard, authorities announced this week.
On Thursday, Stephen Eric Buchanan, 40, pleaded guilty to one count each of murder in the second degree, concealment of death, and possession of a firearm by a felon over the summer 2024 killing of 72-year-old Charles Knight. The defendant also pleaded guilty to four counts of obtaining property by false pretense.
The defendant was subsequently sentenced to 51 to 63 years in prison by Rowan County Superior Court Judge Michael S. Adkins.
On Aug. 4, 2024, law enforcement conducted a welfare check on Knight at his residence on Johnstone Road in Cleveland – a small town located some 45 miles due north of Charlotte.
There, Cleveland Police Department officers found Knight’s remains in the backyard. The victim was partially buried, according to Charlotte-based NBC affiliate WCNC. Some of Knight’s remains, however, were also found in a burn pit, according to the Salisbury Post.
A warrant was issued for Buchanan’s arrest four days later, and he was arrested on Aug. 12, 2024, Rowan County court records show.
In September 2024, the defendant’s brother told a news outlet based in the United Kingdom that he was the one who called police after not seeing their uncle for several days and then seeing his brother using their uncle’s car.
“I asked Stephen where our uncle was, and he told me he was in Louisiana,” the brother told the Daily Express. “He had been going to yard sales and selling my uncle’s things. I got a call from my uncle’s neighbor one day who said there was a fire burning for three days and they could smell a dead animal.”
That report was cause for concern.
“I went to my uncle’s garden to check out the fire and I found human remains in the pit,” the since-sentenced man’s brother continued.
The investigation ultimately identified Buchanan as the lead suspect. He was first apprehended on outstanding warrants in South Carolina and then extradited back to the Tar Heel State.
The convicted killer’s motive and the victim’s cause of death remain unclear.
After the arrest, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation was the lead agency on the case. In a statement announcing the court’s sentencing decision, the agency thanked their partners.
“The SBI is proud of the great work by the men and women of the SBI, the Cleveland Police Department, and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office for thoroughly investigating this case and bringing closure to the family of the victim,” the agency said.
