RALEIGH — According to a statement released by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, an offender’s death has now been ruled a homicide.
Offender Michael F. Crumbley, 58, was assaulted by fellow offenders while serving a twelve-year sentence for a 2018 conviction in Cleveland County as a habitual felon and for drug possession. Crumbley, who is originally from Bessemer City, was serving out his sentence at the Tyrrell Prison Work Farm at the time of the incident, which took place on June 9, 2023.
Following the assault, Crumbley was airlifted to ECU Health Greenville and admitted into ICU. Crumbley succumbed to his injuries five days after the attack at ECU Health Greenville, on Wednesday, June 14, at 1:33 a.m.
Conducting a lengthy investigation, the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has issued its final report on the incident Monday.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the Tyrrell County Sheriff’s Office are continuing to investigate the incident. The Department of Adult Correction has also fully cooperated with the above investigation as well as opened one of their own into the incident.
Crumbley had a projected release date of January 7, 2026 and was a minimum custody offender at the facility in Columbia at the time of his murder.
