Cherryville man beaten to death had a 'heart of gold,' fiancé says

A Cherryville woman says her fiancé was killed over a dispute involving $15.

Michele Robles and Daniel Wayne Knighten were digging post holes at a neighbor’s house near their home on Putnam Street in Cherryville on Oct. 13.

They worked up a thirst during the task, so Knighten decided to pick up some drinks at a nearby gas station.

Robles said her fiancé kissed her goodbye, told her he loved her, and rode off on his bike to grab money from their home.

Some time passed, and Knighten had not returned.

Robles said she saw someone walking down the road, and they shouted to her that someone had beaten 49-year-old Knighten at his home.

When she arrived at the house, Robles said she found Knighten in the living room covered in blood with a broken nose, jaw, and other injuries.

Witnesses who were at the home when the encounter happened told Robles that Howell Gene Sisk, who the couple had met only two days prior, accused Knighten of stealing roughly $15 worth of items from him and punched him several times, eventually knocking him off the brick staircase flat onto the concrete below, she said.

Witnesses also said Sisk kicked Knighten in the head and face when he tried to get up after falling off of the stairs, Robles said.

When Robles saw Knighten in the living room, she noticed he was not breathing properly and asked someone to call 911, she said.

He died three days later.

“Daniel had a heart of gold,” Robles said. “(He could) make you laugh on a bad day.”

He would give the shirt off of his back, a bite to eat when someone was hungry, and a place to stay when someone had nowhere to go, she added.

“It’s not fair. I mean, that takes a cold-hearted person to do something like that. Especially when they aren’t fighting back,” Robles said. “I just take it all one day at a time.”

Daniel leaves behind two daughters and two grandchildren, according to Robles.

The family is currently raising money through a GoFundMe to give Knighten a proper burial , she said.

Sisk, 49, is being held in the Gaston County jail on a $10 million bond.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Cherryville man beaten to death had a 'heart of gold,' fiancé says