“I think I killed the son of a bitch.”
It was on this day ten years ago that a father and son murdered Jeffrey David Lowe, 37, of Top Notch Recovery. Prosecuted were a father and son with some sketchy excuses that ran contrary to the only witness, Lowe’s girlfriend.
That Deadly Night
It happened at a home in the 1400 block of Sunset Terrace Road west of Whiteville, North Carolina at @ 3:30am where Jeffrey David Lowe, 37, of Orrum, was attempting to repossess a vehicle at the residence when he was shot in the head. Maj. Worley says Lowe was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jeffrey died from a gunshot to the head.
William Roy Kohler, 51, and his son, William Roy Kohler III, 18, were each charged with murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
Lowe had the car hooked to his tow truck when the Kohler’s came out of the home and started firing shots.
The Killers Excuse
The elder Kohler got his gun and fired what he called “a warning shot.” His son continued to fire. Four shots hit Lowe’s tow truck as he attempted to tow the pickup from Kohler’s home. One of those shots killed him.
The elder Kohler said he was sound asleep in his Columbus County home when a noise woke him up at 2:30 in the morning. He said when he looked outside, all he could see was someone with a flashlight back behind his house, and he went to grab a gun to protect his family.
“I had no idea it was a repossession, I had no reason to believe it was a repossession,” Kohler explained. “I had been in contact with the people I purchased a vehicle from, they knew I had been in the hospital. I had just spoken with someone from the car lot, one of the owner’s sons, that Saturday before this happened and he said, ‘You’re OK, you’re OK.’ And then of course Tuesday at 2:30 in the morning, all of this went down”
While Roy Kohler has argued self-defense, prosecutors said many of his facts didn’t add up.
They said he claimed to have fallen behind on his vehicle payments because he was in the hospital, but the hospital had no record of Kohler being there. They also said Kohler was three months behind on his vehicle payments, and was told by the car dealership that if he didn’t pay by June, the car would be repossessed. Prosecutors said Kohler had five prior vehicle repossessions, and should not have been surprised when Lowe arrived to take the truck.
The Witness
But Lowe’s long-time girlfriend could see. She asked for us not to use her name in this story, but she was in the passenger seat of Lowe’s tow truck the night he was killed.
She reported that she saw the elder William Kohler come out of his house with a gun and fire a shot immediately at close range. She says the first shot hit the light bar on their truck as they were driving off toward the road.
“I hit the floorboard and Jeff leaned over the console,” she recalled.
She says second shot hit her door. A third hit Jeff, killing him, and a forth hit the front of the truck. Jeff’s girlfriend said the shots came one right after the other, all within a matter of about 20seconds.
Covered in Jeff’s blood, she ran for her life. She also says she distinctly remembers hearing a man’s voice saying, “I think I killed the son of a bitch.”
The Trial
Both father and son pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and William Roy Kohler III also pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
William Roy Kohler Jr. was sentenced to 90 to 120 months in prison, and William Roy Kohler III was sentenced to 304 to 389 months (25.33 to 32.4 years) in prison, according to NRcolumbus.com.
Lives Torn Apart
The killing of Jeff Lowe brought many local repossession men and women together who say he was shot to death, simply for doing his job.
“Jeff was a funny guy, man. Jeff was up for anything. Always 100 percent go, go, go,” said Ken Dahlstrom, a friend of Lowe’s.
“This should’ve never happened. Nothing we can do to change, but we can change it happening to other people,” added Lowe’s 16-year-old son, Jeffrey Lowe Jr.
Looking for ways to honor his friend, that’s when Dahlstrom figured all he needed was a hashtag. He created the Facebook campaign #Repomanlivesmatter.
“We are just trying to raise awareness and educate people that the repo man is the middle man in this situation. He’s not there by choice. He’s there because he was hired to do a job,” Dahlstrom explained.
“We are everyday people just trying to make a living,” stated Lowe Jr.
Dahlstrom says they sell t-shirts on the Facebook page “Repoman Lives Matter” to help support Jeff Lowe’s family.
“It’s been helpful with the grieving process,” he said.
Lowe’s daughter, Allie, reported that she remains devastated that her father was killed. He wasn’t able to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, or attend her brother’s graduation. Mr. Lowe’s youngest son was still in elementary school when this happened.
Regardless of who fired the shots, Allie says her dad was just doing his job, and never came home. She says her father was killed over a truck.
Jeff left behind four children, Alexandrea Lowe, Jeffrey Lowe, Jr., Ashleigh Lowe and Cole Lowe.
Jeffrey was laid to rest at the Meadowbrook Cemetery in Lumberton, Robeson County, North Carolina
Ten years goes by pretty fast. But the murder of Jeffrey Lowe is probably as fresh as it happened yesterday in the minds and hearts of his loved ones and friends to this day.
Repo Man Lives DO Matter.
May God bless you all and be safe.
Kevin Armstrong
10 Years Ago – Father and Son Murder Repo Man Jeffrey Lowe – 10 Years Ago – Father and Son Murder Repo Man Jeffrey Lowe – 10 Years Ago – Father and Son Murder Repo Man Jeffrey Lowe – Father and Son Murder Repo Man Jeffrey Lowe – Father and Son Murder Repo Man Jeffrey Lowe
10 Years Ago – Father and Son Murder Repo Man Jeffrey Lowe – Repossession Violence – Repossession History – Repossession – Repossess – Repossession – Repossession Agency – Repossessor – Police – Police – Arrest – Arrest
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