Plea offer to be made in Pitt County killing

Pitt County prosecutors are expected to make a plea offer in the killing of a man whose body was found in a trash can on Tyson Street in Greenville last year.

During an administrative hearing at the Pitt County Detention Center’s courtroom on Aug. 9, attorneys said that the state will extend the offer to the defense of Tyrell Best, 40, of 1506 Sheppard St., Greenville, who is charged with murder in the killing of Antonio Bond, 35, of Windsor.

Bond’s remains were found in a trash can on the morning of Oct. 8 on the 900 block of Tyson Street near Battle Street. Police at the time said that the killing occurred in the area where Bond was found and that his body was not moved from elsewhere.

Bond and Best were believed to have been in a dispute prior to the killing, which police said was targeted. Best has been in custody at the detention center since his arrest on Oct. 11, 2023. His secured bond is set at $2 million and his next court date is scheduled for Oct. 3.

The state is represented by Pitt County Assistant District Attorney Joel H. Stadiem in the case. Best’s attorney is Ernest Conner of Greenville.

Conner is also the defense attorney for Robert Edward Rathmann, 36, whose case was also heard on Aug. 9. He said that a plea offer was made in the case a year ago, but that his client wishes to see lab reports expected to come this week.

Rathmann is accused of bludgeoning Samantha Coppola, 39, in the couple’s residence at 592 Weston Road near Grimesland. Her body was discovered Oct. 17, 2022, by the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office when investigators made a wellness check. Coppola was last heard from on Oct. 12, reports said.

Rathmann was in custody for an Oct. 13 burglary charge when he was charged with murder in Coppola’s death. He had broken into a home, threatened a man with a knife and demanded to see the man’s girlfriend, reports said.