ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. -- A Rowan County man is behind bars, accused of killing his 75-year-old grandmother in what the sheriff calls an "obvious, horrible assault".
Monday morning, 911 dispatchers got a call from a man who reported his grandmother was not breathing.
The man on the phone, 31-year-old Curtis Trexler, tried to perform CPR but told dispatchers he believed it was too late.
When asked what happened, Trexler reportedly said his grandmother fell.
Sheriff Kevin Auten says when detectives arrived, they found Joyce Trexler dead in the kitchen. Auten says evidence at the scene made it clear Joyce Trexler did not fall.
"It's just horrible," Auten says. "It's just hard to imagine a grandchild killing their grandmother."
Auten says Curtis Trexler has a history of drug use and arrests. Trexler was living with his grandmother for the past six months. Auten says she was supportive of her grandson, even during his incarceration.
"This individual, the suspect, had been in jail before and his only visitor was his grandmother who he's now accused of killing," Auten says. "I mean that just rips your heart out-- that someone who looks like she cared about him is dead at his hands."
Auten says Curtis Trexler denied any involvement in the crime.
"He's not cooperating," says Curtis Trexler's mother, after walking out of the Rowan County Justice Center.
She says she believed her son was clean, as tears rolled down her face. After her conversation with detectives, she said her hope faded.
"They told me it's obvious he did it," she said, getting into her car. "I'm never going to see my son again."
"We're confident," Auten says. "Obviously, you don't draw a murder warrant on a whim."
Trexler remains behind bars in Rowan County. He is due in court Tuesday to answer to a murder charge.