WILKESBORO, N.C. — A man is accused of kidnapping and killing a U.S. Postal Service worker while she was delivering mail on her route in rural North Carolina, prosecutors said.
According to Wilkes County online booking records, William Craig Durham, 56, of Roaring River, was arrested on June 26. He was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping, court records show.
Durham is accused of killing Brandi Byrd Reynolds, 35, of Roaring River, who worked as a rural letter carrier, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said in a statement. Reynolds, a mother of two girls, was found dead in Hays, a small town with a population of about 1,500 in Wilkes County, USA Today reported.
North Carolina USPS worker killed on the jobhttps://t.co/OgV8Nykvo2
— Michael Rollo (@MichaelRollo8) July 1, 2026
“I can confirm that Brandi Reynolds was delivering mail on her route when the incident occurred,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel told NBC News via email.
A warrant filed in Wilkes County District court alleged that Durham kidnapped Reynolds “by unlawfully restraining the victim, removing the victim from one place to another without the consent of the victim.”
Authorities did not disclose a motive for the killing, The New York Times reported.
On Monday, District Judge Robert J. Crumpton ordered Durham to remain in custody without bond, citing his “significant criminal record.”
State prison records show Durham has served time for second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and possession of a gun by a felon, NBC News reported.
In February, Durham was charged with taking a credit card belonging to Reynolds and attempting to steal $440, according to a warrant, according to the newspaper. The case was dismissed weeks later.
An obituary for Reynolds stated her two daughters “were her whole world.” Her husband, Brent Andrew Reynolds, died last year in a road accident, WXII reported.
Brendan C. Edge, Durham’s court appointed attorney, did not return a request for comment from the Times.
Durham is expected to appear in court on July 8, online records show.
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