Man who fatally shot, helped dismember roommate in Rural Hall sentenced to decades in prison

FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A man who shot and killed another man in a Rural Hall home and helped dismember him was sentenced to multiple decades in prison, according to a statement shared by the office of Forsyth County District Attorney James O’Neill.

Norris Dwayne Rochelle, 28, pleaded guilty in Forsyth County Superior Court to multiple charges related to the murder of Nicholas Williams at his home on Hallmark Drive in Rural Hall.

Rochelle also lived at the home and was a tenant. In Feb. 2019, the two men got into an argument, and Rochelle shot Williams in the head.

Rochelle then contacted a friend in Craven County on FaceTime. During the call, Rochelle shot the victim a second time in the head.

The second shot was fatal.

Rochelle then went to Craven County to pick up a friend. The two men returned to the Rural Hall home where Rochelle and his friend decided to dismember Williams and burn his remains to conceal the crime.

The dismembered remains were hidden in a car while the men conspired on how to remove his body from the house. Before his remains could be taken somewhere else, Williams’ parents arrived at the home looking for him.

Rochelle lied and said Williams was dropped off at an apartment complex. Rochelle then drove the victim’s parents to the apartment complex where he claimed Williams has been dropped off.

Williams’ parents couldn’t find their son, went back to the home on Hallmark Drive and called law enforcement. Multiple detectives and deputies from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office responded to the home to look for the victim.

Rochelle repeatedly lied to the FCSO and continued saying Williams was dropped off at an
apartment complex.

While Rochelle and Williams’ parents were at the apartment complex, Rochelle’s friend drove the car with the remains to Craven County. Williams’ remains were burned and abandoned in Craven County.

The following day, FCSO detectives continued the investigation. Eventually, Rochelle voluntarily went to the sheriff’s office and agreed to be interviewed as a search warrant was being executed at the Hallmark Drive home.

Rochelle continued lying to detectives. While he was being interviewed in Forsyth County, Rochelle’s friend went to a police department in Craven County and told officers about Williams’ murder and dismemberment.

When the FSCO confronted Rochelle with his friend’s confession, he changed his statement and alleged that he had killed Williams in self-defense. He also confessed to his involvement in the dismemberment and the attempts to conceal the victim’s death.

The physical evidence did not support Rochelle’s version of events. There was no physical
evidence that Williams attacked or assaulted Rochelle. He falsely claimed that he shot Williams once in the upper body. Instead, an autopsy determined that the cause of death was two gunshot wounds to the head.

Williams’ father met with the District Attorney’s Office and discussed the options for resolving the case and the opportunity to prevent a jury trial while holding Rochelle accountable. Williams’ family expressed their support for resolving the case with a plea to multiple charges guaranteeing a lengthy sentence in prison.

Rochelle pleaded guilty to:

• second-degree murder
• concealment of an unnatural death
• conspiracy to commit concealment of an unnatural death
• assault inflicting physical injury upon a detention employee

The Honorable David L. Hall, Forsyth County Resident Superior Court Judge sentenced Rochelle to three separate consecutive sentences at the top of the aggravated range.

Rochelle was sentenced to prison for a minimum term of 39.4 years to a maximum of 50.4 years.

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