Man enters plea deal for murder near rural road
By Zach Rainey
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SALUDA, North Carolina (WYFF) — A man is headed to prison after an argument escalated into a fatal shooting near a rural Western North Carolina road.
Investigators said that in September 2022, 47-year-old Daniel Case from Hendersonville, North Carolina, was reported missing after he did not show up to his job at Meritor in Fletcher.
According to his employer, this was unusual for him not to show up to work, so they attempted to contact both his phone and his emergency contact, with no success.
Law enforcement later found a woman driving a vehicle registered to Case. She told authorities that she had last seen Case with Shane Archie Waters on Pinnacle Mountain Road, in Henderson County.
According to the woman, both Case and Waters were passengers as she drove the vehicle. During the drive, Case and Waters were allegedly arguing over her. She pulled over several times and they exited the car to fight, and when she pulled over the last time, she heard what sounded like three gunshots come from the woods.
The woman said that Waters returned to the vehicle and told her to leave the area.
In October 2022, Waters admitted to law enforcement that he shot the victim three times, supposedly in the neck and chest.
On Dec. 1, 2022, Waters led law enforcement to the place where Case had been shot on Pinnacle Mountain Road, where detectives found a human skull and several scattered long bones. A shirt with defects suggestive of bullet holes with faint red staining suggestive of blood was recovered at the scene.
A forensic anthropologist examined the remains and determined that there was extensive animal scavenging activity on the remains.
DNA analysis confirmed that the identity of the deceased was in fact Case.
In court, a plea deal was reached. The now 53-year-old was sentenced to a minimum of 16 years and a maximum of 20 years and three months for second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty on May 1, 2026.
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