RALEIGH — Four teenagers were charged with murder Wednesday afternoon after authorities discovered a body in a mobile home in the rural New Hill community of southwestern Wake County.
Wake Sheriff Donnie Harrison said investigators aren't ready to confirm the identity of the body. They're trying to determine whether it is that of Matthew Josiah Silliman, 18, who's been missing from his home in Apex since Nov. 26, he said.
Harrison said a tip from the Apex Police Department led them to the pale yellow, three-bedroom doublewide at 4221 Olive Branch Lane.
Investigators could not tell the cause of death, he said.
"We have to wait for an autopsy," said Phyllis Stephens, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
Arrest warrants refer to the victim as "John Doe."
The four charged with murder are:
Drew Logan Shaw, 16, of 107 Woolard Way, in Apex;
Ryan Patrick Hare, 18, of 100 Walnut Hill Court, in Apex;
Allegra Rose Dahlquist, 17, of 601 Walcott Way, in Cary; and
Aadil Shahid Khan, 17, of 901 Bristol Blue St., in Apex.
Harrison and Stephens declined to discuss a possible motive or what led to the arrests. "Something stupid," a Wake County magistrate said when asked what might have led to the killing.
Silliman knew the teens who have been charged. All four are listed as his friends on his page on the social networking site Facebook.com.
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