Man Found in Barrel of Concrete, Dismembered; Drug Dealer Charged With Murder


A North Carolina man with an “extensive criminal history” was charged with murder on Thursday after investigators found a missing man’s body on his property, dismembered and encased in concrete inside a 55-gallon barrel.

Jackie Lamar Bright, 42, was released from prison last May then arrested on drug charges on January 6. He was released on bond and then taken into custody on more drug charges on January 11 before being charged with the murder of Michael Bradley Cox, who had been missing since December, WRAL reported.

WRAL said the investigators spent days combing over property owned by Bright in rural Sanford, North Carolina.

The Lee County Sheriff’s office said “detectives located a 55-gallon barrel in a heavily wooded area that contained concrete and suspected human remains” during their searches on Tuesday. The medical examiner removed the concrete and confirmed the body was Cox.

Sheriff Brian Estes said more charges are expected.

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[Featured image: Jackie Lamar Bright/North Carolina Department of Corrections]