Suspect arrested in North Carolina double murder nearly 2 decades later

U.S. Nearly 2 decades after double murder in North Carolina, suspect arrested 3,000 miles away By Emily Mae Czachor Emily Mae Czachor News Editor Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She typically covers breaking news, extreme weather and issues involving social justice. Emily Mae previously wrote for outlets like the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek. Read Full Bio Emily Mae Czachor May 26, 2026 / 12:15 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The suspect in an infamous North Carolina double murder has been arrested after nearly two decades, some 3,000 miles from where the killings took place, authorities said. Johnny Steven Talbert, 43, was taken into custody Thursday in Port Angeles, Washington, according to the Concord Police Department. Talbert faces two charges of first-degree murder and another for armed robbery, police said. He is currently jailed without bond in Washington and is awaiting extradition back to North Carolina.Concord police called the arrest "a major cold case breakthrough." It came almost 18 years after Donna Barnhardt, 59, and Darrell Noles, 44, were shot and killed at the city's Sun Drop Bottling Company facility on June 13, 2008. The unsolved case became known as the "Sun Drop Murders," as detectives were unable to locate a suspect before now.Barnhardt worked as an office manager at the bottling company, police said, and Noles was at the facility that day to apply for a job. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives believe the gunman fatally shot both of them, stole money from the facility's front office, and fled the area. A composite sketch of a possible suspect was released several months after the murders using physical descriptions provided by witnesses who said they saw a man leaving the site of the shooting on foot. Police said investigators received numerous tips but still could not find him. Detectives continued to submit evidence for testing as new technology developed in...