NC Woman Found Dead, Sex Offender Charged with Murder

A North Carolina woman who investigators believe was abducted from her home was found dead, and a registered sex offender has been charged with her kidnapping and murder. Robin M. Doyle, 58, of Hickory, was reported missing after a family member last saw her on Monday. Authorities believe she was taken from her home the next day after her father, with whom she lived, woke up to find her missing, her car still in the driveway and the back door left open.

Doyle’s body was found on Friday afternoon in a wooded area in northwestern Catawba County, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office said. The agency said it was not releasing Doyle’s cause of death as of Friday afternoon, while the manner of death is suspected to be homicide. Investigators identified Leroy Allen Loper, 54, a registered sex offender, as a person of interest in Doyle’s disappearance.

Loper was arrested Wednesday in Surry County, about 60 miles from Doyle’s home, on unrelated sex offender registry violations. Doyle was not found at the location where Loper was taken into custody, officials said. Following the discovery of Doyle’s body, Loper was charged with felony murder, first-degree kidnapping and concealment of death in connection with her abduction and death, the sheriff’s office announced on Friday night.

Evidence collected during the investigation, including a bra found near her home and zip ties in her yard, suggests Doyle was taken against her will. Surveillance footage and witness reports also showed a red vehicle speeding away from Doyle’s neighborhood, leading authorities to Loper’s 2015 red Kia Optima. Similar zip ties were later found inside the vehicle, investigators said. Loper has previous felony convictions for first-degree kidnapping and second-degree forcible sexual offense, according to the sheriff’s office.

Catawba County Sheriff Don Brown expressed the agency’s condolences to Doyle’s family following the charges. Investigators are continuing to look into Loper’s movements around the time of Doyle’s disappearance. Anyone who saw him or his car between July 27 and July 29 is asked to contact the sheriff’s office. Loper may have traveled through both Catawba and Surry counties during that time, officials said.