Investigators said low temperatures, malnutrition and physical disabilities were factors in the siblings’ deaths.
HENDERSON, N.C. — A Vance County man has been charged with murder weeks after deputies found his 13-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son dead inside a Henderson home, where investigators said the children were cold, underweight and living in unsafe conditions.
Authorities identified the father as Aron Newsome, 46. He faces two counts of second-degree murder and one count of felony child neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. The charges follow a Feb. 9 death investigation at a home on Torri Drive and a first court appearance Monday, where Newsome was ordered held without bond. The case now moves toward another court date on March 30 as investigators continue to piece together what happened inside the house and what role past child welfare concerns may have played.
Deputies were called to 71 Torri Drive at about 9:40 p.m. on Feb. 9 after a report involving two deceased people. When they arrived, they found two juvenile victims, ages 13 and 17, dead at the scene. The sheriff’s office said four siblings, ages 12, 13, 16 and 17, lived in the home and that Newsome was present when the two teens died. Investigators later said the children were found cold and underweight. They also said low temperatures, malnutrition and physical disabilities were factors in the deaths. A space heater was in the room, but officials said it was not working because the power was out. The sheriff’s office opened a criminal investigation and worked with the county Department of Social Services, the district attorney’s office and the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Newsome was arrested March 21 and taken into custody by the Vance County Sheriff’s Office. Local reporting said no cameras were allowed during his first appearance in court Monday. During that hearing, Newsome said he was unemployed and had no income. Court proceedings described so far in public reporting did not resolve key questions, including how long the children had been in distress before they died, when authorities were last inside the home, or what medical or social service records may exist for the family. Officials also have not publicly released the names of the two teens. The felony child neglect count pertains to the 13-year-old victim, according to the sheriff’s office. Authorities have not announced any additional charges. The two younger children who were living in the home are now under review by social services, but their present placement has not been publicly described.
Neighbors said the home had raised concern before the deaths. Jennifer Brust, who lives nearby, told ABC11 that she rarely saw an adult outside the house. She also said Child Protective Services had been at the home in the past when the family had no heat. Public records cited in local coverage show Newsome separated from his wife in 2023, and she filed for divorce in 2025. Those details do not explain the deaths, but they add to a picture of a family that had been under strain before deputies were called in February. The broader county context has also drawn attention. In May 2025, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services temporarily took over leadership of child welfare services in Vance County, saying the county had failed to make enough progress after months of concerns over child safety practices. State officials said at the time that the problems posed a substantial threat to children’s safety and welfare.
That state intervention is not itself part of the criminal case, but it has sharpened scrutiny of how the system handled vulnerable children in the county. NCDHHS said it stepped in after working with Vance County DSS since July 2024 and finding that serious problems remained. The sheriff’s office has said its death investigation involved county social services and the medical examiner, suggesting that both the criminal and child welfare sides of the case are under review. For now, the murder charges mean prosecutors will need to show that Newsome acted with the malice required for second-degree murder under North Carolina law, while the neglect charge focuses on the harm to the younger victim. Officials have not said when autopsy findings will be released or whether more records could become public before the next hearing. Newsome could face decades in prison if convicted. Local reporting said the maximum exposure mentioned in court was up to 88 years.
For neighbors, the arrest answered one question while leaving many others open. Brust told ABC11, “It’s so sad,” a brief reaction that captured the shock in a quiet Henderson neighborhood where the deaths became public long before charges were filed. The sheriff’s office also credited outside agencies with helping capture Newsome, including the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office C.A.A.T. and the State Bureau of Investigation’s Criminal Apprehension Team. That assistance suggests investigators viewed the arrest as a coordinated operation rather than a routine surrender. Still, the public record remains incomplete. Authorities have not said whether prior reports to child welfare workers directly involved these children, whether school officials had raised concerns, or whether the power outage at the home was short-term or part of a larger pattern of unsafe living conditions.
The case stands at an early but serious stage. Newsome remains jailed without bond at the Vance County Detention Center, and his next court date is scheduled for March 30.
Author note: Last updated March 24, 2026.