Foster parents found dead in Raeford home

The Hoke County Sheriff's Office said Ted and Joann Chavis were long-time foster parents. They were found dead on Monday at a home on Cope Road.
Posted 10/29/2025, 4:40:43 PM Updated 10/29/2025, 9:50:05 PM

Right now at 5:30 we have new information about the

Monday stabbing deaths of two foster parents

The Hope County Sheriff's office says the couple's foster son

did it and then took his own life

Thanks for joining us

I'm Lina Tollett and I'm Dan Haggerty

Investigators also telling us that the parents had worked with

children for years and took in some kids from some

of the worst situations

WRO's Flynn Snyder spoke with supporters of foster families who

call this crime unprecedented in our state

Advocates say the murders that happened at this home on

Cope Road are unlike anything experienced in North Carolina's foster

care system before

Foster families say they're now looking for answers

More questions than answers remain about the stabbing deaths of

foster parents Ted and Joanne Chavis at their Hope County

home

Police say their 17 year old foster son is responsible

How in the world did something like this happen And

that's the answers that

Everyone wants but we may never know

The uncertainty leaving foster families shaken

Advocate Gil Osborne is pledging support for the state's 5600

foster families

Right now I mean they are vicariously carrying this incident

with them

I don't want our families that are currently serving children

to panic

I don't want them to think oh the child in

our home is going to do the same

We tried speaking with the victim's relatives

A woman who says she's the Chavis's daughter posted online

asking for privacy amid their grief

The Hope County Sheriff's office identified the teen suspect by

the initials DP

Soon after the stabbings authorities found him an hour south

at the boys and girls' homes in Columbus County where

authorities say he took his own life

We don't want something like this to Have negative impacts

upon the foster care system and how our children

Um are going to act normally because this is not

a normal response

This is not something that we see

A double murder reverberating through North Carolina's foster care system

as loved ones remember the couple known for helping kids

in need

Flint Snyder WREL News Hope County

The Foster Family Alliance says caregivers undergo dozens of hours

of training for children who have experienced trauma and because

of his age the teen's full name has not been

released

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