Edward Eugene "Eddie" Shepherd

SALISBURY - Edward Eugene "Eddie" Shepherd, 52, of Salisbury died Monday, October 24, 2005.

Mr. Shepherd was born in Rowan County on Sept. 4, 1953, a son of the late Ervin Kenneth and Mary Oma Fry Shepherd. He was a 1973 graduate of East Rowan High School and a graduate of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. He had worked at Pillowtex before its closing. Mr. Shepherd was a member of Rock Grove United Methodist Church and an avid fisherman who loved fishing with his family.

Survivors include two daughters, Lisa Michelle Shepherd and Amy Nicole Hevenor, both of Salisbury, two brothers, Kenneth R. Shepherd and Jimmy P. Shepherd, both of Gold Hill; and three grandchildren, Katelinn Nicole Reynolds, Karla Hevenor and Diana Hudson, all of Salisbury.

Services : Memorial services will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at Liberty United Methodist Church conducted by the Rev. Mark Helms, pastor.

Powles Funeral Home of Rockwell is serving the Shepherd family.

Salisbury Post, 27 Oct 2005

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Oct 26, 2005
By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post

The Rowan County Sheriff's Department has charged a woman with the first-degree murder of her ex-husband.

Investigators said Elizabeth Casper Myers, 49, of 369 Fisherman's Lane, shot her ex-husband, Edward Eugene Shepherd, 52, of 1045 Shuping's Mill Road, Rockwell, to death inside her home Monday night.

Neighbors said the incident occurred after Shepherd trespassed on Myers' property.

After the shooting, Myers called 911 and spoke with a dispatcher.

"She told the dispatcher she had a weapon and she had put it on the table," said Lt. John Sifford of the sheriff's department.

Sifford would not say what kind of gun was found, but according to scanner reports, Myers told the dispatcher she'd shot her ex-husband several times in the chest with a 9-millimeter handgun.

"She was waiting in the doorway when officers arrived," Sifford said.

Officers found the gun on a picnic table outside the mobile home. Sifford didn't say if the gun belonged to Myers.

"It didn't appear that (Shepherd) had a weapon," Sifford said.

Lisa Shepherd, the daughter of Shepherd and Myers, said she and her twin sister, Amy, 24, are still in shock.

"He was real abusive to me, my sister and my mom," Lisa Shepherd said.

Shepherd said her mother is a "very good person" and "fragile." She said her mother has lupus, which is a auto-immune disease that can cause inflammation, pain and tissue damage.

Shepherd said her mother also suffers from fibro-myalgia, a widespread pain and tenderness in the muscles and soft tissue.

"She's a sweet, loving person," Shepherd said. "She's always been there for me and my sister. My mom doesn't deserve to be in jail."

Shepherd said she understands that law enforcement officers had to arrest her mother.

Shepherd was charged with communicating threats against Meyers in 1990, but the charges were dismissed. Shepherd and Myers were divorced in 1986.

Shepherd served 30 days for a conviction of felony possession of marijuana and amphetamines.

Myers is being held in the Rowan County Detention Center without privilege of bond. Her first court appearance is scheduled for today.

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Salisbury Post
Oct 28, 2005
Brother - Shooting victim no 'worse than anybody else'
By Shavonne Potts

Ken and Jimmy Shepherd are trying to pull themselves together after their brother was shot to death earlier this week.

Edward "Eddie" Shepherd, 52, was shot several times Monday night at the home of his ex-wife, Elizabeth "Libby" Casper Myers, 49. Sheriff's invesitgators have charged Myers with first-degree murder.

"He was a normal guy who was making the most of what he was dealt," Ken Shepherd said of his younger brother.

Ken said his brother isn't the villain they feel he's being made out to be.

"He was not perfect, and he had a temper, but he dearly loved his daughters and grandchildren," he said.

Jimmy Shepherd said their brother was like anyone else: "The bottom line is he wasn't any worse than anybody else."

Ken said the way their father raised them made it difficult for Eddie to show love.

"He (Eddie) was good-hearted, he was fun to be around and fun to talk to and he loved life," Ken Shepherd said.

Ken said his brother had problems early in life when he hung around the wrong crowd.

"He religiously attended AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings. They helped him keep his head screwed on straight," he said.

Eddie Shepherd had served a short jail sentence for felony possession of marijuna and amphetamines, but Jimmy Shepherd said that conviction dates back to 1986.

"He changed his life around, and every Sunday, he was in church," Jimmy said.

The family remains in shock, Ken Shepherd said.

"We had the rug ripped out from under us, and we are picking ourselves up and we are clinging to each other," he said.

His twin nieces, Amy and Lisa, 24, are caught in a no-win situation, Ken said.

"Their daddy is dead, and their mama is in jail facing first-degree murder charges," he said.

The family does not want Myers to face the death penalty, Ken said.

"It won't accomplish anything. Those girls have it rough enough right now," he said.

Ken Shepherd said he and his brother don't hold a grudge against Myers, but they "don't want her to get off scott free."

Investigators responded to Myers' home at 369 Fisherman's Lane after she called 911 and told a dispatcher she'd shot her ex-husband several times in the chest with a handgun.

When officers arrived at the High Rock Lake home, Myers was waiting at the doorway.

Officials have said Eddie Shepherd did not appear to have been armed.

Myers remains in the Rowan County Detention Center without a bond.

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Letter: Friends have different view of shooting victim
Salisbury Post
November 01, 2005
Section - Opinion

I take exception to the negative portrayal of Ed Shepherd in articles published by the Salisbury Post after his tragic death. The articles failed to mention that Ed used his past difficulties to completely change his life.

At the time he was killed, he'd been sober for 18-plus years, a tremendous accomplishment. He also spent considerable time helping others with similar problems.

Ed was employed and respected on the job for those 18 years, except for the last two years when he was retraining as a machinist. He graduated from Rowan Cabarrus Community College as a machinist and quickly found employment. He had no further convictions after 1986.

I've known Ed 19 years, and I've never seen, or even heard tell of him, raising a hand in violence toward anyone. The picture painted by the Post simply doesn't ring true to me, or to others who have known Ed for many years.

In one article, his daughter Lisa described Ed as being "abusive to his ex-wife and daughters." I wonder then why Lisa was living next door to him, on Ed's land, in a home he helped her acquire and move onto his property. Ed spent considerable time, money and effort underpinning that home, building a nice back deck and renovating the interior to give his daughter and grandchild a nicer place to live.

The article doesn't mention the help Ed gave his daughters with several cars and the good, common-sense advice he gave them that was often ignored. It also doesn't mention the other problems he helped them with through the years.

I'm not saying Ed was perfect; no one is. But he was a wonderful friend to me and to many other people, and I want Salisbury to hear that side of the story, too.

Robert J. Phillips Jr.
Kannapolis

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Salisbury Post
Nov 3, 2005

Editor's note: These two letters are from the daughters of Edward Shepherd, who was shot to death Oct. 24. Their mother, Elizabeth C. Myers, Shepherd's ex-wife, is charged with murder.

My father wasn't a bad man. He did have a temper. Some days he was nice; other days he was not. But we all are like that.

When I was young, my father showed his temper more than now. He called us airheads, and he sometimes hit me. I asked him to take anger management classes, but he wouldn't. I did not see my father after the age of 14 because he slapped my face.

But he was my father. We tried to rebuild our relationship. He did stuff for me. I was stung by bees, and he killed them. He carried water to us after a pipe burst and fixed the floor. But he left some bad messages on the answering machine. He was in church and was helpful to others. No one should have to die like he did. I have lost my father and mother.

My sister moved her house onto the land (he owned) because she was pregnant and had nowhere else to move it. They were trying to rebuild their relationship. Once, he walked through her house with a gun and pointed it at the dog.

We loved our father. His oldest granddaughter and I had just played ball with my dad on Sunday, Oct. 23.

I wish I could turn back time. I'm hurt, lost, sad, upset and tore up about this. My father helped me a lot, but it's hard to put the past behind.

He scared my mom. We had to go to a safehouse to leave my Dad, but he did try with us.

I miss my father and mother.

I moved in with my sister about five months ago, with my girls. Yes, I do have a past. I'm on probation, but I'm still a good mother to my girls. We need all the prayers we can get.

Amy Hevenor
Salisbury

This is in response to Dereck and Kimberly Leonard's Oct. 31 letter:

Yes, my father was a good person. He loved Amy and me but had a hard time showing it. My dad did abuse my mom, Amy and me. My sister and I went through four years of counseling because of the abuse.

He would cuss and hit us almost every weekend. He about killed my mom, right in front of me. He made her pee on herself a few times, choked her until she passed out -- I can go on and on.

And, yes, he was a sweet person at other times. I had nowhere else to put my home, and he told me to put it on his land. He fixed my car, my home when the floor was bad -- I can go on and on. I lived with him; you didn't. I know what went on; you don't.

I have not "forgotten" anything about my dad.

I hope this clears up things.

If you want to know more, come by my home since you know where I stay. Also, I am a Christian. I don't cast stones.

God is the only one that judges us.

Lisa Shepherd
Salisbury