Prosecutors say Lyric Woods, 14, and Devin Clark, 18, were shot on a rural path; the defense argues self-defense.
HILLSBOROUGH, NC — A jury in Orange County began hearing opening statements Wednesday in the murder trial of Issiah Mehki Ross, now 21, who is charged with killing two teenagers in September 2022 along a remote path west of Hillsborough. Ross, who was 17 at the time, is being tried as an adult on two counts of first-degree murder.
The case has gripped central North Carolina for more than two years, drawing intense public attention to how the justice system handles violent crimes involving young defendants and victims. Prosecutors say 14-year-old Lyric Woods and 18-year-old Devin Clark were shot to death off Buckhorn Road and found the next day by ATV riders. Ross has pleaded not guilty. His attorneys have previewed a self-defense claim, setting up a direct clash over how the confrontation unfolded and whether the teens were fleeing or posed a threat. Jury selection concluded this week, clearing the way for testimony from family members, investigators and forensic experts.
According to charging documents and prior courtroom statements summarized by investigators, Woods and Clark were reported missing on Sept. 17, 2022. Their bodies were discovered on Sept. 18 along an ATV cut-through near farm fields and timber stands outside Hillsborough. Deputies and state agents documented multiple gunshot wounds and collected shell casings at the scene. In court Wednesday, relatives described last contacts with the teens and when alarms were raised. “I knew something was wrong when Devin didn’t come home,” said his father, Dexter Clark Jr., who told jurors he filed a missing-person report after calls went unanswered. Woods’s mother, Elizabeth Cannada, also testified about searching for her daughter and the moment she learned of the discovery.
Prosecutors outlined a sequence they say shows intent: an evening meet-up, a dispute, and shots that struck the teens as they moved away. They told jurors that ballistic evidence, autopsy findings and digital records will anchor their case, along with interviews gathered after Ross was located out of state. Detectives arrested Ross in October 2022 after he left North Carolina in the days following the killings, authorities have said. In court filings, the state alleges the bullets’ entry paths and recovered casings undermine any account that the victims were advancing. Defense counsel countered that the encounter escalated rapidly and that Ross fired because he believed he faced an imminent threat, previewing cross-examinations that will target the reliability of scene reconstruction.
Public records identify the scene off Buckhorn Road, a rural corridor in western Orange County dotted with homes, barns and woodlots. The ATV riders who found the bodies called 911 on the afternoon of Sept. 18, prompting a response from deputies, the State Bureau of Investigation and the medical examiner’s office. Investigators canvassed neighborhoods and fields for cameras, mapped the location of cartridge cases and personal items, and sought data from phones used by the victims and the defendant. Authorities say both teens suffered multiple wounds. Officials have not publicly released a full list of items recovered at the scene. The state’s timeline places the shootings after nightfall on Sept. 17; the precise minute-by-minute sequence remains a central dispute.
Ross was initially charged in juvenile court before the case was transferred. In March 2025, he entered not guilty pleas in Superior Court. The prosecution later offered a plea deal, but Ross declined this week, sending the case to a full trial before a 12-person jury and alternates. The proceeding is expected to feature crime-scene analysts, firearms specialists and phone forensics. In the background is a 2023 statute widely referred to as “Lyric and Devin’s Law,” which expanded district attorneys’ ability to move certain homicide cases involving younger teens into adult court. While the measure stemmed from community pressure after the killings, the law itself is not at issue for jurors, who will weigh evidence only from this case under standard instructions on self-defense and first-degree murder.
Attorneys told the court to expect testimony from first responders, medical examiners and those who last saw the teens alive. Family members and classmates are likely to add details about the teens’ movements on Sept. 17 and their relationships. Prosecutors said phone location data and message logs will be used to track the parties in the hours before the shooting. The defense signaled it will highlight gaps in the state’s timeline, question whether any struggle occurred, and emphasize Ross’s age at the time. “This is a tragic case,” defense counsel said in court, “but tragedy alone does not prove murder.” Jurors were instructed not to discuss the case and to avoid coverage outside the courtroom.
Hillsborough’s historic courthouse complex has seen steady crowds since jury selection began this week, with deputies guiding relatives to reserved rows and screening spectators at the entrance. Bundled against a cold January morning, friends of the victims embraced in the hallway. A few carried small photos printed on card stock; others wore pins with the teens’ names. “We just want the truth told,” said a neighbor who came with the families. By midday, prosecutors had shown maps of the Buckhorn Road area and a diagram of the path where the ATV riders reported the discovery, while the defense took notes for cross-examination. Testimony paused briefly as jurors viewed enlarged scene photos across easels in the well of the court.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the court had completed opening statements and begun early witness testimony from relatives and investigators. The judge set a provisional schedule that continues through this week, with additional witnesses expected Thursday and Friday. The trial will recess on weekends and resume next week unless otherwise ordered. A verdict will depend on how jurors assess the physical evidence against Ross’s account of self-defense, with any potential sentencing phase to follow if they return guilty on the most serious charges.
Author note: Last updated January 14, 2026.