MONTGOMERY COUNTY, N.C. — The man charged with murdering Allisha Watts arrived to court on Thursday afternoon in Montgomery County.
James Dunmore was Allisha Watts' boyfriend.
On Thursday, the court found probable cause that James Dunmore killed Watts on or around July 18.
Dunmore has been in jail since his first court appearance on Aug. 28. He could face life in prison without parole or the death penalty if he's convicted.
This was Dunmore's second appearance in a Montgomery County District courtroom after authorities charged him with the murder of his girlfriend, Watts, who was from Moore County.
Watts was last seen alive leaving Dunmore's Charlotte home on July 16. Family members said she had tickets to a comedy show at Bojangles Coliseum but never made it.
For nearly six weeks her family and friends hoped she’d return sadly, their hopes dashed when her body was found near a cemetery in the town of Norman.
“If he is the one that did it, she said that he deserves to have his eyes closed just like her daughter's eyes closed and never will be opened again," Smith said. “For me to see him for the first time, I just broke down. I mean, I couldn’t imagine why he would want to take the life of such a nice, wonderful, innocent, young lady.”
Dunmore was arrested at his home in University City in August. He is currently being held without bond here in the Montgomery County Jail.
His arrest happened shortly after detectives discovered human remains in the woods near a cemetery near the Montgomery-Richmond county line. Watts' body was found in an area where investigators previously searched several times. Sheriff Ronnie Fields said officials believe her body had been there since July 18, the same day Dunmore was found unresponsive in Watts' Mercedes-Benz SUV in Anson County.
"We had searched in that area seven to eight times we think," Fields said. "We were looking at that area. There was digital evidence that led us to that area."
Watts' family reported her missing on July 19 when she didn't show up for work after visiting Dunmore in Charlotte. Her friends said it wasn't like her to shut off communication with them. A large group of concerned friends and family members came to Charlotte from Moore County on July 26 demanding information from Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. It was during this time that Watts' friends described what they considered were red flags.