Union County man pleads guilty to 2012 triple murder

A Union County man has pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder after he killed three people at a home in Marshville in 2012.

Randall Hank Morrison, who was 24 at the time, was charged with the murders of Ronnie Dale Overcash, Jerry Wayne Marsh and Crystal Dawn Hicks. He lived in the home next to the murder scene.

Friday, he pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in a Union County courtroom. He was sentenced to three life sentences.

The murders happened at a home along the 1000 block of Landsford Road in Marshville in July 2012.

At the time, Union County Sheriff Eddie Cathey dubbed the investigation “one of the most intensive investigations conducted by the agency in recent years.”

The investigation began when Morrison’s mother called 911 early the morning of July 7, 2012, and told operators that her son found three bodies next door.

At the time, Morrison claimed he found the bodies when he and his daughter went to the home to feed the animals. Cathey said Morrison went back to crime scene to be “surprised” by the bodies.

“On the first day of this, we believed what he said,” Sheriff Cathey said during a 2012 news conference after Morrison was arrested. “Until evidence indicated different.”

Investigators say a shotgun and knife were used during the crime.

Crystal Hicks’ body was found in a wooded area near the home, while Ronnie Overcash and Jerry Marsh were found inside the house.

Morrison also pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Union County man pleads guilty to 2012 triple murder."