Gov. Josh Stein announced Monday that the state is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the 1972 murder of Brenda Kay Mills.
“We must use every tool at our disposal to pursue justice for victims,” Stein said. “I urge North Carolinians who have information about these cases to contact local law enforcement and help us provide closure to victims’ families.”
On Aug. 2, 1972, Mills, who was 19, went missing after leaving her home at 207 E. Washington St. in Kinston.
In July, Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers issued information he gathered through interviews conducted regarding the cold case.
According to interviews with her family, they said Mills was last seen between 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. as she was walking south on North McLewean Street toward the American Legion Hut, now known as the Joseph Dixon Rountree American Legion Post 43, Rogers said.
The location was known to hold dances for local residents and military servicemen from Jacksonville, Fayetteville and Goldsboro. Mills’ family said she had plans to attend the dance, according to evidence gathered from the cold case, Rogers said.
Investigators interviewed 50 people, many who placed Mills at the dance. She left the dance around 10 p.m. and walked alone northward on McLewean Street, toward her home.
Witnesses who knew Mills said they were outside on their porch that night when they saw her walking back toward her home near the intersection of North McLewean Street and East Washington Street, he said.
As Mills reached a vacant lot next to her home, someone approached her and is suspected of assaulting her and taking her away from the lot.
Investigators interviewed two of her siblings who reported that during the same night, they heard noises of someone moving around on the vacant lot and hearing someone begging the suspect or suspects to not hurt them, Rogers said.
A station wagon with luggage racks that was parked under a street light left the scene after Mills’ siblings saw someone being loaded into the vehicle.
The next day, on Aug. 3, Mills had still not returned home.
Her father, Paul Mills, went to the vacant lot and found undergarments and sandals that he determined belonged to his daughter. Mills then contacted Kinston police and filed a missing person report.
Two days later, on Aug. 5, Mills was found dead in a wooded area in Lenoir County. Due to the state the body was in, a cause of death could not be determined, though Mills had a fractured jaw.
During the investigation, investigators eventually focused their efforts on a U.S. Marine, who was an acquaintance of Mills and stationed the Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune. The Marine was also present at the American Legion Hut on the night Mills went missing. He was questioned more than once but denied any knowledge of Mills’ death.
The case was again reinvestigated by a different SBI agent with the help of other local investigators, but there was not enough evidence leading to any charges in the case.
A major hurdle in the case was that the autopsy of Mills was hampered by severe decomposition, Rogers said. The pathologist at the time could not determine a cause of death although Mills had a fractured jaw.
The unknown cause of death presented a challenge in charging a suspect in the murder.
The case was eventually closed in 1984, Rogers said.
In December 2024, Rogers learned about the unsolved murder from a family member of Brenda Mills. In an effort to bring closure for the family, Rogers decided to assign the case for review to retired Sheriff Chris Hill, who has been assisting Rogers in an investigative role during the past couple years.
Because the case is more than 50 years old, the first challenge was finding the original reports created during the investigation, Rogers said.
With the help of the SBI, information was gathered concerning the witnesses interviewed as well as those who may have had some direct involvement in Mills’ death.
The next challenge was determining if any evidence collected during the investigation was available for reexamination.
While the SBI laboratory was utilized during the investigation, only a very small amount of blood was collected under the fingernail of the victim, which was likely exhausted during testing.
At the time, DNA was not available. Because Mills was cremated, no further examination can be made using today’s investigative standards.
During the cold case review, 18 witnesses were located who were either present at the American Legion Hut in 1972 or had some knowledge of the case. Most of the other witnesses are now dead, along with persons of interest who were identified during the two initial investigations, Rogers said.
“While some new information was gleaned from the interviews that have been conducted … nothing has been found that changes the resultant outcome of the initial investigation,” Rogers said in July at the time he released information on the case.
Rogers said Monday he has a renewed commitment by the state and local law enforcement to work to solve the cold case.
“This reward reinforces our commitment to never forgetting Brenda Kay Mills and to continuing the pursuit of justice, no matter how much time has passed,” Rogers said. “We encourage anyone with information, no matter how small it may seem, to come forward and help bring closure to her family.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office at 252-559-6100 or the State Bureau of Investigation at 919-662-4500.
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