McDowell County authorities have charged 27-year-old Nicholas Gregory Pendley of Spruce Pine with felony larceny of a motor vehicle. Pendley was denied bond, as he was already out on pretrial release at the time of the new charges.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to assist Wadsworth’s mother, Joyce, who lives out of state. Funds are intended to cover travel expenses for family members coming to North Carolina, as well as funeral and memorial costs and other expenses related to settling Wadsworth’s affairs.

Court records show a district court judge, William Jones, appointed earlier this year by Governor Josh Stein, terminated probation for a repeat assault offender in April, months before the same defendant was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Buncombe County.

The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said on Dec. 23 that an arrest has been made in the homicide of an 18-year-old who was reported missing earlier this month and later found dead in western Buncombe County.

Candidate filing for North Carolina’s 2026 election cycle closed at noon Friday, Dec. 19, finalizing the field for local, state and federal races that will appear on Rutherford County ballots next year.