A 40-year-old North Carolina man who went missing last Christmas Eve was found dead and dismembered inside a barrel filled with concrete, like a scene out of the TV series “Breaking Bad.”
Police made the gruesome discovery on January 26, on the second day of their search of a residence in Sanford, North Carolina.
According to a press release by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies executed a search warrant on the Sanford home and neighboring area on January 25. They searched a wooded area near the home and found a 55-gallon barrel filled with concrete and what they suspected were human remains.
Police sent the barrel to the North Carolina State Medical Examiner’s Office, and it was confirmed that the remains belonged to a man identified as Michael Bradley Cox.
Cox had not been seen or heard from since December 24, 2022 and was reported missing almost two weeks later, on January 5.
Investigators arrested Jackie Lamar Bright, who was living at the residence in Sanford, and charged him with the murder of Michael Bradley Cox.
Police said the suspect was a known drug dealer and had an extensive criminal record. Bright had been released from prison in May of last year.
The Sheriff’s office said after being released from prison in May 2022, Bright had been arrested twice in January 2023 on unrelated charges. He was on parole when deputies from Lee County Sheriff’s Office placed him into custody on January 6 for possession of a stolen car and drug violations. Police found the stolen vehicle at his home with a substantial amount of opioids, marijuana, and cocaine.
The Sheriff’s office said in the press release that the suspect was released from jail after bail was posted. Lee County deputies arrested him a second time five days later, on January 11, for violating parole and additional controlled drug violations.
Bright was already in police custody when officers made the gruesome discovery of the barrel on his property.
The Sheriff said the investigation is still active and additional charges will be filed against Bright.
