Surveillance Footage Could Hold Clues in School Counselor’s Murder

Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(NEWTON, N.C.) — Police are studying surveillance footage to retrace the last steps of a 31-year-old North Carolina high school counselor who was murdered last month.

Maggie Daniels, 31, who was single and lived alone, was found dead in her apartment on June 28.

Daniels had served as a teacher and coach and most recently, a counselor at Discovery High School in Newton, a 13,000-population town located northwest of Charlotte.

Newly-released images show Daniels wearing a T-shirt and pink shorts, shopping with a friend at Walmart hours before her death. Newton Police Chief Donald Brown said surveillance could help authorities fill gaps in the investigation.

“We’re trying to narrow down and develop our timeline and pinpoint where she was,” Brown said.

Investigators will not say how Daniels was killed, only that there was no sign of forced entry. That’s not a surprise for neighbors, who say she often left her front door open for students to stop by.

Former student Marcus Forsyth says he saw Daniels every day, including the day before her body was found.

“She was taking out the trash,” Forsyth said. “I said ‘hey.’ She said ‘hey.’ I said ‘have a good day,’ and there was the last time I saw her.’”

Students and faculty — along with Daniels’ family from Ohio — gathered at Newton-Conover High School, her former school, Wednesday for a memorial service, where Daniels was remembered for her generosity.

“She connected with people. She just had this personality that connected with students and adults,” said David Stegall, Superintendent of Newton-Conover City Schools.

Police say they still have no suspects and no answers about why someone would want Daniels dead.

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