Warrant: Allisha Watts murdered on day she was last seen; boyfriend charged

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) – An arrest warrant indicates that James Dunmore, the boyfriend of Allisha Watts, murdered the Moore County woman in Montgomery County on the day that she was last seen by family.

Dunmore, 51, is being held in the Montgomery County Jail without bond on the charge of murder. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 28, at 9:30 a.m.

According to the arrest warrant obtained Friday by WBTV, Dunmore is accused of killing Watts on July 16. Relatives have said this was the same day she was last seen at the suspect’s northeast Charlotte home.

Montgomery County Sheriff Pete Herron confirmed Thursday that Watts’ body was found behind a cemetery off Cemetery Road.

“This is not the outcome that we had been hoping for. But by finding Allisha today, it can bring some closure. I hope and I pray it will bring some closure to family and friends moving forward,” Herron said.

About a dozen family members spent Thursday at the Norman Community Cemetery in Montgomery County waiting for deputies to confirm what they found.

In a Facebook post, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said that Dunmore had been arrested for murder. A video sent to WBTV showed him being taken into custody.

“I’m just glad we got our guy, you know what I’m saying,” Tea Hines, Watts’ cousin, said. “I just can’t – I just can’t wait to go to court. You know, I just can’t wait to see what he has to say about this. We shouldn’t even be out here. If he would have just told us ... 38 days in now. That’s a long time.”

“This is weird, is very weird. But hopefully, this is the closure that we’ve been looking for,” Hines said. “I don’t know how he managed to do that by himself. And my head, he had to pretty much have helped because there’s no way that you’re going to take your girlfriend on a date to a cemetery. So I don’t know how he even chose the spot that he chose.”

Following her disappearance, Watts’ vehicle was found on July 18 at an Anson County DMV. Her boyfriend, whom police list as the sole resident of the Pamela Lorraine Drive home in northeast Charlotte, was inside the vehicle and was the victim of an apparent suicide attempt, the warrant states.

On July 19, Watts’ family filed a missing persons report with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police. A week later, CMPD officers looked through the Pamela Lorraine Drive home and a 2007 Audi for any evidence of the crime of murder, according to the search warrant.

“There will be a day of reckoning for this individual that was arrested, so again, this is a very active investigation,” Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said.

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