Murder case scheduled to go to trial today

BECK The trial of a man accused of killing a maintenance worker from Blacksburg is expected to begin today in Cherokee County General Sessions Court.

Arthur Shane Beck, 29, of Kings Mountain, N.C., is accused of fatally stabbing Ray Von Cannon, 60, of 134 Ellis Road, Lot 1, Blacksburg, with a large knife July 6, 2004, minutes after Von Cannon had clocked out from work at the Kangaroo Fuel Center convenience store.

Von Cannon’s wife, Nancy Elizabeth Von Cannon, and his stepdaughter, Amanda Gayle Pruitt, who also was Beck’s girlfriend, are each charged with conspiracy to commit murder and accessory before the fact of murder. All three suspects have remained jailed since their arrests.

Authorities contend Pruitt and Nancy Von Cannon discussed and planned Ray Von Cannon’s murder between June 1 and July 6, 2004, while they were at the residence they shared with the victim.

Two witnesses positively identified Beck as the person responsible for Von Cannon’s death after he was apprehended by sheriff’s deputies in the MeadowCreek Industrial Park, about a quarter-mile from the Kangaroo Fuel Center at 401 Shelby Hwy., Gaffney.

PRUITT A co-worker said she overheard Ray Von Cannon say he did not get along well with his stepdaughter — who also was employed at the convenience store — and her boyfriend.

The fellow employee said she overheard Pruitt talking about an expected financial windfall in the near future. She said she also heard Ray Von Cannon talk about bad relations between him and Pruitt and Beck. The coworker said the victim claimed Beck threatened to cut his throat a few weeks prior to his death.

A conviction for murder and accessory before the fact of murder carry a sentence of 30 years to life in prison while conspiracy to commit murder carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

VON CANNON