2 men share slain Davidson woman’s $1 million estate

A Davidson woman found shot to death in her townhome last July left a will instructing that all of her assets – nearly $1 million – go to her boyfriend.

But Sarah Long’s boyfriend, William Drew Becker, and her estranged husband, Christopher Daarmond Reeves, signed a consent order this month allowing Reeves to receive an undisclosed share of Long’s estate.

Davidson police have never publicly named a suspect in the death, which was initially ruled a suicide. By October, police were treating the case as a homicide, and Police Chief Jeanne Miller said last week that detectives have narrowed their investigation to one person.

Based on witness statements, police believe someone else was inside Long’s house on Old Meeting Way the night she died, according to search warrants.

Long, 41, was found dead in her bedroom clutching a .357 Taurus revolver in her left hand, records show. Police said Long was right-handed.

She died of a single gunshot wound to the left side of her head, Dr. Michael Sullivan, Mecklenburg County’s chief medical examiner at the time, wrote in an autopsy report.

The mystery surrounding her death has drawn national attention, most recently on the true-crime “ Nancy Grace” show on the HLN cable TV network.

Father’s fight

The month after Long’s death, her father, Larry Long, tried to stop Becker from getting Sarah Long’s money, held by a Statesville financial firm.

Larry Long, a Kentucky farmer, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order barring Becker from the money, and a Mecklenburg County judge approved the order.

Another judge later ruled against Larry Long, saying he wouldn’t win the case in court.

In his motion for the temporary restraining order, Larry Long said Becker is the subject of the police investigation, which Becker denies in an affidavit in Mecklenburg County Superior Court.

In the affidavit, Becker said Sarah Long’s estranged husband, Reeves, is the subject of the investigation and “was known to be physically abusive and emotionally abusive to her.”

Reeves’ lawyer, Shawn Copeland, released a statement, saying, “This has been a tragic and very difficult time for Mr. Reeves and the rest of Sarah’s family, and he hopes that the ongoing investigation by authorities will resolve the unanswered questions.”

Long wrote about the abuse in her journal and in a notebook that police now possess, Becker said in his affidavit.

Long filed a domestic violence complaint against Reeves in February, court records show. On March 3, she withdrew her complaint, with no reason cited in court records.

Estate battle

The court order over Long’s estate doesn’t say how much money each man is entitled to receive, but Reeves, 49, said in a court filing that he deserved at least 15 percent of his wife’s estate.

A separate settlement agreement between Becker and Reeves isn’t part of the public court record.

Sarah Long’s mother, Fay Long, willed 75 percent of her estate to Sarah and 25 percent to Sarah’s brother John Long, John Long said in an affidavit supporting his father’s failed court order against Becker.

Fay Long had been willed the money from her mother. Fay Long lived frugally on the interest and from what she earned as a shoe saleswoman at Kohl’s, John Long said in his affidavit.

John Long said he didn’t believe his sister “would have freely and voluntarily left her assets to Mr. Becker,” according to the affidavit.

Long said it’s more likely his sister would have left her assets to their father, given her “expressed desire” to buy the family’s farm in Kentucky. She intended to buy the farm so their father would no longer have to worry about its upkeep, Long said in the affidavit.

Long’s struggles

John Long said in court records that his sister struggled with drug addiction for years.

“She would start to get better, then relapse again,” John Long said in his affidavit. “At the time of her death, I believe she was still struggling with addiction.”

Sarah Long had a trial pending on a charge of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, records show.

A charge of driving while impaired was dismissed by the court this year. In 1995, she pleaded guilty to driving while impaired in Watauga County.

Her autopsy report shows no presence of illegal substances.

Becker’s affidavit

In his affidavit, Sarah Long’s boyfriend said he and Long were in love.

Sarah Long proposed that each have a will, “because something might happen to one of them and because she was afraid of what her husband might do,” Becker said in his affidavit.

Sarah Long told him that because of abuse she’d suffered, she didn’t want her husband to “get a nickel,” Becker said in his affidavit.

Becker lives in Davidson and owns a trucking company, he said in his affidavit. He said he drives a truck to deliver goods to various locations on the East Coast and in the Midwest.

Becker’s lawyer, Anthony Orsbon of Charlotte, didn’t respond to a request for comment last week. Staff researcher Maria David contributed.

This story was originally published December 23, 2014 at 4:36 PM with the headline "2 men share slain Davidson woman’s $1 million estate."