GASTON COUNTY, N.C. – The man accused in the death of a 3-year-old girl in Gaston County has been indicted, NBC Charlotte has learned.
Billy Joseph McCullen, 25, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after remains of Jordyn Ann Dumont were discovered in Gaston County last month.
According to Gastonia officials, Dumont was reported missing from a home in the 1900 block of Bess Town Road in Bessemer City on Monday, August 15, 2016.
Dumont’s body was found wrapped in a sheet in a wooded area August 16, 2016 near her home, according to the DA's Office, and authorities say there was no blood on Dumont's body; the District Attorney will not say whether or not he saw injuries on the girl's body.
Investigators say McCullen and the girl's mother were dating.
Neighbors say Dumont and her mother were living in an abusive home.
"Billy, the step dad, he was an abusive guy. You could just hear it up in the house," says next-door-neighbor Dusty Connard. "Them fighting, fussing, her [saying], 'please stop hitting me, please, Billy, don't hit me no more. Just stop, just stop!'"
Connard says she called the police four times in the last six months.
"That's how bad it was," Connard says. "We could sit on our front porch and hear every word that was going on in there."
Connard says her daughter saw McCullen get physical with Jordyn about a month ago. Connard says Jordyn was sitting on the porch crying, and McCullen came outside, yelling at the girl, hitting her across the chest, knocking her off the porch, then dragging her inside the house."
