Bryce receives 23-29 year sentence for murder

Melvin Boyce, 63, will spend the next 23–29 years in prison for the March 7, 2022 murder of his wife, Heather Renee Boyce.

District Attorney Seth Edwards announced the guilty plea recently before Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons in Martin County Superior Court.

According to records, at approximately 10:25 a.m. Monday, March 7, 2022, the Williamston Police Department was dispatched to a call for shots fired at Pugh’s Tire And Service Center on Brentway Drive. When the officers arrived they found the victim Boyce had been shot multiple times. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Law enforcement quickly identified a suspect based on eyewitness reports and located the defendant Boyce shortly thereafter in his vehicle. At the time of the vehicle stop, the defendant possessed a 9 mm handgun in his passenger seat.

Evidence gathered from surveillance video and eyewitness accounts showed the victim Boyce visited Pugh’s Tire to service her vehicle. The defendant entered Pugh’s a short time later and he and the victim spoke. The defendant exited Pugh’s but returned inside. The victim then exited the business and the defendant followed her. Surveillance video showed the victim running away from the defendant in the parking lot, at which time the defendant shot and killed his wife.