Sallie Rohrbach, 44, [Found Deceased] Raleigh, NC [SUBJECT CHARGED W/MURDER 1st]

[Faith]

Police find missing woman's car

05/18/2008 09:27 AM

By: Kate Gaier

http://images.news14.com/media/2008/5/18/images/02sallie_rohrbach.jpg
http://images.news14.com/media/2008/5/18/images/01missing_car.jpg
The car was found around 8 a.m. Sunday at a Bojangle's at the intersection of South and West Boulevards.


CHARLOTTE -- Police found the car of a missing woman Sunday morning at a Bojangle’s restaurant just south of uptown.
A missing persons alert is ongoing for 44-year-old Sallie Rohrbach. She is from the Raleigh area and was in Charlotte for business Wednesday.

Police say Rohrbach had an appointment at 1427 South Boulevard, about a half mile from the intersection of West Boulevard, where her car was found, but never showed up.

Her family members say they have not heard from her in four days.

Rohrbach is described as 5-foot-2, about 120 pounds with blonde hair and brown eyes. If you have any information, you are urged to call police immediately.

http://news14.com/Images/watch_video_txt.gif
Missing Woman
News 14 Carolina's Kate Gaier is at the scene with more on the investigation.

http://news14.com/content/top_stories/595842/police-find-missing-woman-s-car/Default.aspx

[Faith]

Search launched after missing Angier woman's vehicle found

http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/news_briefs/2008/05/17/2903025/2903025-1211082662-220x165.jpg
Posted: Today at 12:38 p.m.
Updated: Today at 9:01 p.m.
Charlotte, N.C. — Charlotte police launched a ground and air search for a missing Harnett County woman after finding her vehicle Sunday in the Queen City's South End.
Workers reported seeing a state-owned 2007 Chevrolet Malibu in the parking lot of a Bojangles restaurant, 300 West Blvd., shortly before 8 a.m.
That location is about seven blocks away from a strip mall where Sallie Rohrbach, 44, of 839 Chalybeate Springs, was last seen.
Police officers and fire crews began searching a four- to six-block area around the Bojangles. A police helicopter was assisting with the search.
Her belongings were also found Sunday in her Charlotte hotel room. Her work and personal cell phone were turned off, police said.
Police would not say if they thought foul play might have been involved in Rohrbach's disappearance.
Eight armed law-enforcement investigators with the North Carolina Department of Insurance were to join the search and assist police. Rohrbach has worked for the department for eight years.
DOI investigators do not know if Rohrbach's disappearance had anything to do with an administrative complaint against a Charlotte insurance agency she was investigating.
Rohrbach had a scheduled appointment at the Dilworth Insurance Agency on Wednesday.
Such appointments were part of regular duties as an agency examiner, department spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said. If the complaint had been criminal in nature, armed DOI investigators would have been sent.
"Our fervent hope is that Sallie is found safe and sound," spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson wrote in a statement for the insurance department. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family."
The statement said "Insurance Commissioner Jim Long and the Department of Insurance remain very concerned for Sally's safety."
Police said Rohrbach was last seen at Dilworth Agency, in the strip mall at 1427 South Blvd., on Wednesday. Rohrbach's supervisor called police after she did not show up for work on Thursday.
"We are hoping and praying that everything is going to turn out OK,” neighbor Jean Smith said.
Rohrbach is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. She has blond hair and brown eyes. Her Malibu's North Carolina license plate number is PK5134.

Anyone who sees Rohrbach was asked to call the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at 704-336-2311 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2904013/

[packy]

Looks as though officials have been pretty thorough going from door to door to ask questions. Hope someone will come forth and be able to tell something if her story stays in the news enough for awareness.

http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=595842

Investigators went from home to home and business to business in the SouthEnd area on Sunday asking the same question.
"They were just curious if we'd seen the missing woman, asking if we knew anything about the area, the general area where she was last seen, what we were doing, where we were at," said neighbor Bill Cicely.

[Roamer]

This case reminds me of Pam Biggers, for some reason.

I certainly hope she's found safe.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2905513/

Charlotte, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested a Union County man early Monday and charged him with murder in the case of an Angier woman reported missing last week.

Forty-four-year-old Sallie Rohrbach, an agency examiner for the North Carolina Department of Insurance, was reported missing Thursday after she failed to show up for a meeting with her supervisor, authorities said. She has still not been found.

Michael Arthur Howell, 40, of 5405 Frederick St. in Indian Trail, was charged with one count of murder. He was being held in the Mecklenburg County Jail without bond.

Police released no other details about the case.

Department of Insurance spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson said it appears Rohrbach was auditing an administrative complaint at the Dilworth Insurance Agency in Charlotte, where she was Wednesday.

Howell is listed as one of two agents at Dilworth Insurance.

Rohrbach was last seen in uptown Charlotte at a strip mall called Dilworth Station, police said.

The state-owned 2007 Chevrolet Malibu she was driving was recovered Friday morning behind a Bojangles’ restaurant in Charlotte. That prompted investigators to launch a ground and air search.

They also found Rohrbach’s belongings Sunday in her hotel room. Her work and personal cell phones were turned off, police said.

Tim Rohrbach said it wasn't unusual that his wife's work took longer than a week, but he hasn't spoken with her since Tuesday. He said she usually worked in the Raleigh area but went to Charlotte as substitute for a colleague.

"She was actually covering for somebody else," he said.

Anyone with information about Rorhbach’s disappearance or death is asked to contact the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at 704-336-2311 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

[KittyMom]

http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2008/05/19/06/992-howell.standalone.prod_affiliate.57.jpg

Charge is first-degree murder; car was discovered at Bojangles
VICTORIA CHERRIE; STEVE LYTTLE
vcherrie@charlotteobserver.com; slyttle@charlotteobserver.com

Union County man was arrested overnight and charged with homicide in the case of a missing state insurance investigator.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say Michael Arthur Howell, 40, of Indian Trail was charged with first-degree murder and is being held in a Mecklenburg County jail.

He was taken into custody, detectives say, in connection with the disappearance of Sallie Rohrbach, 40. According to the state insurance Web site, Howell is listed as a registered insurance agent in Charlotte. WCNC-TV, the Observer's news partner, is reporting that Howell worked at Dilworth Insurance Agency, a South Boulevard firm that Rohrbach was investigating.

Rohrbach disappeared in Charlotte last week.

She was the subject of a major search Sunday in the South End business district. Rohrbach, from the town of Angier in Harnett County, arrived in Charlotte last Monday to investigate a complaint at the Dilworth Insurance Agency on South Boulevard in South End.

She was last seen Wednesday, and her car was discovered Sunday morning at a Bojangles restaurant at West Boulevard and South Tryon Street -- less than a half-mile from the insurance agency.

Police still have the insurance agency cordoned off this morning.

Police did not say exactly how they linked Howell to the Rohrbach case. Detectives have told several reporters that Rohrbach's body has not been found.

Rohrbach had been scheduled to return to Raleigh on Friday. But according to N.C. Department of Insurance spokesman Chrissy Pearson, no one has heard from Rohrbach since Wednesday at the insurance agency.

Bojangles' employees found her state-owned Chevrolet Malibu in the parking lot just before 8 a.m. Sunday, Police Capt. Alan Rutledge said. Officers searched the car, but it was unknown Sunday night what, if any, evidence was retrieved.

Police set up a command center in the parking lot of Price's Chicken Coop, a takeout restaurant near the Bojangles'. Officers spent the day canvassing the area with help from Charlotte firefighters, tracking dogs and a police helicopter.

Late Sunday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers were searching inside Dilworth Insurance's office, a spokesman said.

The Insurance Department also has armed investigators who handle criminal complaints. Nine of them converged in Charlotte Sunday to help find the missing woman.

"This is obviously time sensitive and we want to get as much done in as short a time period as we can," Rutledge said.

Rohrbach, who lives in Angier, a Harnett County town southeast of Raleigh, is a field examiner. She gets dispatched to various areas of the state to investigate complaints ranging from an agency not handling books properly or failing to meet requirements to maintain a business.

Often her cases are handed off to criminal investigators. And depending on the investigation, she could stay a day or a week, state officials said.

On this case, Rohrbach, who was covering for a colleague, came to Charlotte last Monday. She'd been staying in the University City area and was scheduled to return to Raleigh on Friday, Pearson said.

"We would have known what her plans were if they had changed," she said.

Pearson couldn't give more details about the complaint Rohrbach was investigating, only that it was not criminal in nature.

"We don't know if (the complaint) is in anyway related to her disappearance or whether it's just a coincidence," Pearson said. "But we are very concerned."

According to Pearson, the last person to see Rohrbach was at the insurance agency on Wednesday between 3 and 4 p.m.

No one from Dilworth Insurance could be reached Sunday.

Rohrbach's husband, Tim, told The Raleigh News & Observer that he last heard from his wife in an e-mail Tuesday. She had plans with friends in Charlotte Wednesday night and never showed up, he said.

She also missed an appointment with a field supervisor in Charlotte Thursday morning. Then she didn't connect as planned with friends on Thursday night, Pearson said.

Insurance department staff reported her missing Friday evening to Charlotte police after being unable to find anyone who'd seen her, Pearson said.

Rohrbach, who has worked for the Insurance Department for eight years is not the type to be out of touch, Pearson said. "We're just very concerned for her safety," she said.

Tim Rohrbach said he was surprised to hear the car had been found at a Bojangles', saying his wife wasn't a fan of fast food.

"She might have gone there to get a diet Pepsi, but she didn't go there to eat," he said. -- The (Raleigh) News & Observer contributed.

WCNC-TV contributed.

Police seek info

Anyone with information on Sallie Rohrbach should call the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at 704-336-2311 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Crimestoppers callers may leave tips anonymously and may be eligible for rewards.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observer staff writer Clay Barbour contributed to this report.

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[packy]

A charge of 1st degree murder seems so sudden. I wonder if they have a confession.

[Faith]

I just heard this story on Fox News--Prayers for her family. :1222423:

[Faith]

Missing State Worker: Murder Charge, No Body


Man Investigated by N.C. Insurance Auditor Held for Murder as Cops Search for Remains

May 19, 2008


North Carolina authorities have charged a man with the murder of a state insurance auditor — but still have not recovered the woman's body.



Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department announced today the arrest of Michael Arthur Howell, 40, on a charge of first-degree murder in the case of Sallie Rohrbach, 44, according to a police department media release. "Detectives are continuing the investigation and seeking any information that will lead to the location of Mrs. Rohrbach's remains," the release said.
Rohrbach, an agency examiner with the North Carolina Department of Insurance, disappeared Wednesday while conducting an audit of the Dilworth Insurance Agency, which is owned and operated by Howell, police said. Rohrbach was last seen Wednesday afternoon and was reported missing on Friday.
On Sunday, Rohrbach's state-issued Chevrolet Malibu was recovered in the parking lot of Bojangle's restaurant in Charlotte, about a mile from the insurance agency office.





Detectives searched the area by foot and from the air, but did not find the woman's body. Authorities also searched Howell's car and business. Enough information was recovered for investigators to obtain a warrant for Howell's arrest.


It is unclear what type of evidence — or perhaps confession — authorities had in order to obtain an arrest warrant on a murder charge.
"We can't at this time," Robert Fey, a spokesman for the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Police Department said when asked about disclosing evidence in the case. "We have not recovered a body."

Howell was arrested late Sunday night and booked early this morning into the Mecklenburg County Jail, where he is being held on the murder charge, police said.
"It's an ongoing investigation," Fey said. "We're still trying to piece together his whereabouts from last Wednesday to the time of his arrest."
No one answered the phone at the Dilworth Insurance Agency. It is unclear whether Howell has retained an attorney.
Rohrbach was an agency examiner whose duties generally included following up on complaints about insurance agencies, according to Chrissy Pearson, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
She was one of four state employees who would be dispatched throughout the state to comb through financial records and meet with insurance agents in question, Pearson said.





In this case, Rohrbach was covering for another investigator when she went to Charlotte to interview Howell, Pearson said.
Pearson would not reveal the exact nature of the complaint against Howell, but she said it was "not unusually grievous in nature." Howell has maintained an insurance license in North Carolina for roughly 20 years, according to Pearson.




Agency examiners work closely with the department's criminal investigators and frequently tap them when a complaint rises to a criminal level. Nothing about Howell's case had triggered any particular alarm.

"Sallie gave us no indication that she needed any additional assistance or that she was uncomfortable," Pearson said.
It is the first time that an agency examiner ever died while working for the state insurance department, she said.
"It's such a mystery on so many levels for us," Pearson added. "It's truly shocking. We never thought that in the course of your duties as an agency examiner that your life would be in danger."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=4887711&page=2

[KittyMom]

My impression from news reports is that Sallie was last seen in this guys insurance business. She was investigating his business. Makes me think there may've been evidence in that building that led LE to charge him with 1st degree murder.

[KittyMom]

http://www.mydailyrecord.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=97023&TM=39576.59

http://www.mydailyrecord.com/SiteImages/Article/97023b.jpg
Authorities have charged a Charlotte insurance agent (Michael Arthur Howell, 40, above) with the presumed murder of Sallie Rohrbach (top), an Angier resident who, along with her husband Tim, owns this recently remodeled Colonial-style home (left) on Chalybeate Springs Road, 1 mile outside town. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police continue to comb the area near the Dilworth Insurance Agency, the last place Mrs. Rohrbach was reportedly seen between 3 and 4 p.m. Wednesday.

[KittyMom]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jZm7rsz_9mvawGjK8JcXd4FovGGAD90PECNO3

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A Charlotte insurance agency owner charged in the death of a North Carolina state insurance investigator is set to appear in court.

Authorities say 40-year-old Michael Arthur Howell (HOW'-el) of Indian Trail is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 44-year-old Sallie Rohrbach (RAW'-bak). Howell's initial court appearance will be held Monday afternoon in Superior Court in Charlotte.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police continue to look for Rohrbach's body.

Ronhrbach is a Department of Insurance investigator who traveled to Charlotte early last week to audit Howell's Dilworth Insurance Agency. When family and co-workers didn't hear from her by Friday, they called police.

Authorities say Rohrbach's slaying was connected to her duties as an auditor, and that evidence was found in both her car and Howell's vehicle.

[Faith]

That explains the murder charges. How sad! I hope they find her body soon. :1222423:

[Faith]

Man denied public defender in insurance examiner's death
Sallie Rohrbach

Posted: Today at 1:06 p.m.
Updated: 4 minutes ago

Charlotte, N.C. — CBS affiliate WBTV reports that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have found a female body in Fort Mill, S.C., just south of Charlotte. Police there have been investigating the death of state insurance examiner Sallie Rohrbach.

Meanwhile, Tuesday, a Superior Court judge in Mecklenburg County denied bond for an insurance agency owner charged in Rohrbach's death.

During his first court appearance Tuesday, Michael Arthur Howell asked to be appointed a public defender, but the judge denied the request, saying Howell made too much money and had too many assets to qualify.

Howell, 40, of Indian Trail, is charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of Rohrbach, 44, of Angier. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have not been able to find her body.

It was unclear if anyone was in court representing Rohrbach's family; a handful of people were there for Howell, including his sister-in-law, who did not identify herself by name.

"Just pray for both families," she said as she left court.

The Department of Insurance investigator traveled to Charlotte early last week to audit Howell's Dilworth Insurance Agency. But when family and co-workers did not hear from her by Friday, they called police.

Authorities said Rohrbach's slaying was connected to her duties as an auditor, and that evidence was found in both her car and Howell's vehicle.

Howell's next court date is June 2; a probable cause hearing is scheduled for June 9.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2914262/

[Nut44x4]

FORT MILL, S.C. -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg investigators confirm they have found the body of murdered insurance investigator Sallie Rohrbach.
York County Sheriff's Office investigators found her body in a heavily wooded area off Vista Road near Pleasant Road in Fort Mill.

"It was a short distance off the roadway," said Lt. Jerry Hoffman of the York County Sheriff's Office. "There's not an obvious manner of death. Persons who are working with the body cannot, at this point, determine how she died."

Rohrbach's body was taken to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

Hoffman said that York investigators had been searching the area when the body was found.

"We were searching this area for some information that CMPD had come across," Hoffman said.

Hoffman said it appeared the body had been in the area for a few days.

Rohrbach was last seen alive on Wednesday. Michael Arthur Howell is charged with first-degree murder in her death.

Rohrbach, a Department of Insurance investigator, traveled to Charlotte early last week to audit Howell's Dilworth Insurance Agency.

She was supposed to meet with a supervisor from the agency on Thursday and when she didn’t check in, red flags went up, prompting them to check in with her husband and then police.

A search Sunday turned up Rohrbach’s car at a Bojangles parking lot about a mile from the insurance agency, but WCNC spoke with a worker there who says she remembers seeing the car in the parking lot as early as Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities say Rohrbach's slaying was connected to her duties as an auditor, and that evidence was found in both her car and Howell's vehicle.

Howell, 40, made an initial court appearance Tuesday. Public defender Susan Weigand appeared with Howell and argued he cannot afford to pay for two attorneys, so he would be entitled as a defendant in a capital murder case.

The request was denied. District Court Judge Bill Constangy -- citing Howell's $6,000 monthly income and liability insurance -- ruled he has enough income to pay for his own defense.

The N.C. Department of Insurance, where Rohrbach had been employed, issued this statement on Tuesday:

"The news this evening that Sallie's body was found brings conflicting emotions to those of us at the Department of Insurance. We are devastated that all hope is lost, but we also find a sense of closure in knowing that we can lay to rest our dear friend and colleague with the dignity and respect she deserves. Not knowing where to find her was torturous, so at least in that regard there is some relief.

"We pray for peace for Sallie's family and want them to know that we grieve with them.

"Finally, we send our sincere thanks to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. Their response to this case was, in our minds, exceptional, and we commend them for their professionalism. Thank you, CMPD, for bringing closure to those who knew and loved Sallie."
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-052008-mw-bodyfound.112510ae.html

[TigressPen]

How tragic. She was simply doing her job. My prayers are with Sallie's family. :1222423:

[Faith]

Thanks Nut. My prayers are with Sallie & her family. :1222423:

[KittyMom]

Fort Mill, S.C. — A woman's body found late Tuesday afternoon is that of a missing state insurance examiner who traveled to Charlotte last week to audit an insurance company, the agency said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., police investigators converged on a private wooded area off of Vista Road in Fort Mill, S.C., 23 miles south of Charlotte, where they found the body about 200 yards off the side of a road. It had been there for about three days, they said.

The state Department of Insurance confirmed the body was that of Sallie Rohrbach, 44, and said in a statement that the news brought conflicting emotions to those at the agency.

***snipped*****

[KittyMom]

http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/573985.html

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said information they received late Monday led them to search for Rohrbach's remains less than 5 miles from the N.C. line, near the intersection of Vista and Pleasant roads. The search was suspended Monday night because of darkness and resumed Tuesday.

Rohrbach's body was recovered around 2:30 p.m. and has been transported to a medical examiner's office for autopsy.


Maybe traced his cell or car?

"Mr. Howell could be subjected to the death penalty," Mecklenburg Assistant Public Defender Susan Weigand told the judge, asking for a court-appointed lawyer to represent Howell.

District Judge Bill Constangy reviewed a financial statement and said Howell had an income of $6,000 a month and owned two 2007 Acuras.

Weigand pointed out that Howell had monthly expenses of $7,200.

But the judge refused to appoint a lawyer: "With the assets he has and the income he's making, I've determined he doesn't qualify for a court-appointed lawyer."


:mad: With that income he wants a court appointed atty????

[packy]

http://www.heraldonline.com/109/story/573985.html


Maybe traced his cell or car?


:mad: With that income he wants a court appointed atty????

Maybe he assumes that with a PD he will be able to use ineffective counsel issues in order to get an appeal or something. Who knows, but with that kind of money he isn't getting one.

May Sallie rest in peace. My condolences to her family and friends. I am so sorrry for the loss.

[KittyMom]

http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=8362685

Associated Press - May 21, 2008 10:25 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The cause of Sallie Rohrbach's death remains unclear even after an autopsy.

A statement from the Mecklenburg County medical examiner's office said that the slain state insurance investigator died from "homicide of undetermined means." No further details were available.
Prosecutors have charged insurance agency owner Michael Howell with first-degree murder in Rohrbach's death.

Rohrbach was an investigator with the state Insurance Department who was reviewing the books at Howell's busines when she disappeared. Authorities have said Rohrbach's slaying was connected to her duties as an auditor.

State Department of Insurance spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson says she can't discuss the complaint that prompted the audit of Howell's business. But two former customers say they paid Howell, who then failed to forward the money to their insurance providers.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2932086/

[Amusedtdth]

My condolances and God Bless the family.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2943520/

Updated: Today at 12:17 p.m.

Charlotte, N.C. — The insurance agency owner charged in the death of a state examiner initially consented to a search of his office and car but withdrew after police found areas on carpet and a computer cord that tested positive for blood.

Also, according to a search warrant released Tuesday, investigators seized the carpet, pornography, customer files and other items from Dilworth Insurance Agency in Charlotte.

The warrant, issued May 19, states Michael Arthur Howell told police he last saw Sallie Rohrbach leaving the agency at approximately 4 p.m. on May 14. Police found her body May 21 in a wooded area in Fort Mill, S.C., 25 miles from the insurance agency.

Rohrbach, 44, was in Charlotte the week prior auditing Howell's company. When she did not show up for work, she was reported missing.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have said Rohrbach's death is connected to her duties as an auditor and that evidence in her car and Howell's vehicle connected him to the homicide.

They have not released further details about the case, but sources within the police department have told CBS affiliate WBTV that Rohrbach died from blunt force trauma and that the slaying occurred inside Howell's office.



This guy is so screwed.

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2976362/

Posted: Today at 12:10 p.m.
Updated: Today at 12:26 p.m.

Charlotte, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police seized a stick from a Charlotte insurance agency owned by the suspect charged in the death of state insurance examiner Sallie Rohrbach.

Police searched the premises of Dilworth Insurance Agency on Thursday after receiving information from a North Carolina Department of Insurance investigator of possible evidence related to the crime at the agency, according to a third search warrant made public Monday.

The stick was the only item seized, according to the warrant, but it does not provide further details about the item.

An examiner with the Department of Insurance, Rohrbach, 44, of Angier, was reported missing May 16. Her body was found four days later in a private wooded area of Fort Mill, S.C.

According to a search warrant released last week, she was in Charlotte reviewing the financial records of Dilworth owner Michael Howell after GMAC Insurance pulled its operating agreement for failing to pay customer premiums.

Howell, 40, is charged with first-degree murder.

Investigators have not said how Rorhbach died, but sources within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have told CBS affiliate WBTV that she died from blunt force trauma and that the slaying occurred inside Howell's office.

[Grande]

Emails shed light on Rohrbach case
05/30/2008 07:14 AM
By: News 14 Carolina Web Staff

CHARLOTTE -- A new search warrant released in connection with the death of a state insurance investigator reveals possible illegal business practices at the agency she was sent to look into.

Sallie Rohrbach, 44, of Harnett County, was investigating the Dilworth Insurance Agency in Charlotte earlier this month when she was reported missing. Her car was found days later and then her body was recovered in Fort Mill, S.C.

The owner of that agency, 40-year-old Michael Howell, is charged with murder.

Several e-mails to supervisors show the development of the investigation into Howell's business. On March 19, Howell was notified that GMAC, a nationwide insurance company, was terminating its agreement with Dilworth because premiums were not paid on time.

Michael Howell In an e-mail to her supervisor on May 13, Rohrbach said Howell did not maintain any records on site because of crimes in the area. Howell told her he would bring the records to the office on May 14 but the communication stops there.

Rohrbach was reported missing May 16 and Howell was charged on the 19th. Rohrbach's body was found the next day.

Howell was appointed a public defender in court Thursday. A judge initially denied the request because Howell made too much money, about $6,000 a month, but attorneys argued that Howell's debts were $7,000 a month, so he was granted the state-funded defense.

http://news14.com/content/headlines/596154/e-mails-shed-light-on-rohrbach-case/Default.aspx

[Grande]

http://i34.tinypic.com/2920in5.jpg

[KittyMom]

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/3573264/

Cause of insurance examiner's death can't be determined

Updated: Sep. 19 12:45 p.m.

Charlotte, N.C. — An autopsy says the body of a state insurance investigator that was found in South Carolina in May was so badly decomposed that medical examiners can not determine how she died.

The autopsy report released Friday by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said the body of Sallie Rohrbach, 44, of Angier, was wrapped partially in garbage bags when it was found. The report said that there were no signs of skull or neck injury and that the body was identified with dental records.

Michael Howell, 40, owner of the Dilworth Insurance Agency, has been charged with murder. Officials said Rohrbach was sent from Raleigh to Howell's Charlotte office to examine his books.

Soon after Rohrbach's body was found, sources within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department told CBS affiliate WBTV that she died from blunt force trauma and that the slaying occurred inside Howell's office.

Police seized a stick from the office as possible evidence in early June, according to a search warrant. Testing produced positive results for traces of blood on a carpet and computer cord.

Rohrbach disappeared May 14, and her body was founded in a wooded area of York County, S.C., on May 20.