It’s been nearly half a year since the mysterious death of Rev. Anthony T. Spearman, and there’s still complete silence from law enforcement – and everyone else – regarding the circumstances and cause of death.

This week, the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department, when asked, stated that there’s nothing to add to the department’s July 2022 press release – which said only that the matter was under investigation.

Spearman, the former head of the NC NAACP and a member of the Guilford County Board of Elections, was found dead at his home on Tuesday, July 19 in what one 911 caller described as a very bloody scene.

Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston – who, like Spearman, is a former head of the NC NAACP – said that he too had heard of nothing new through either official or unofficial channels.

“I haven’t heard anything,” Alston said.

This week, Sheriff’s Department Spokeswoman Bria Evans said the department doesn’t have any new information to offer.

The last Guilford County Sheriff’s Department release stated only that sheriff’s deputies responded to 4246 Farlow Dr. in Greensboro “in reference to a death investigation” in response to a 911 call at 5:08 p.m. regarding a 71-year-old found deceased in his residence.

“This is an ongoing investigation and no further information will be released at this time,” that brief press release from the Sheriff’s Department added.

That’s where the matter still stands.

A series of 911 calls from the well-known civil rights leader in the week before the death generated more questions than answers.

Soon after Spearman’s death, a blogger in New Bern told the Rhino Times – as well as his internet audience – that he had been contacted by a 20-year-old male who claimed Spearman had sexually assaulted him before Spearman’s death.

A Certificate of Death is now on file for Spearman. In the box stating the cause of death, there’s only one word: “Pending.”

Guilford County Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen said it’s his understanding that  “This means it’s still with the medical examiner.”

He added that deeds staff familiar with the process said it can, on occasion, take from six months to a year for the “Pending” to be replaced with a cause of death.

In the first of four 911 calls related to the incident, Spearman can be heard negotiating and arguing in the background with someone in the room.

“Listen, Listen, man, didn’t I tell you that I would work it out with you?” Spearman said on the call.

After an inaudible response, Spearman added, “Not like that, either.”

In a call later that same day, Spearman told the 911 operator that a young man who sometimes worked for him around the house had assaulted him, robbed him, taken his phone and attempted to obtain money using a financial app on the phone.

 

 

About