William Craig Durham, 56, was charged with kidnapping and murder in the killing of 35-year-old Brandi Reynolds.

7/1/26 – A man kidnapped and killed a U.S. Postal Service worker while she was delivering mail in North Carolina last week, police said, orphaning her two daughters, who lost their father just a few months before.

Brandi Reynolds, 35, was found dead following a call for help to authorities in Hays, North Carolina, on Friday afternoon, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

The bureau did not provide any potential motive in her killing.

“I can confirm that Brandi Reynolds was delivering mail on her route when the incident occurred,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said by email.

Prosecutors in Wilkes County charged William Craig Durham, 56, of the community of Roaring River, with first-degree kidnapping and murder, according to court records.

The defendant, arrested on the day of the murder, remained in Wilkes County Jail on Tuesday, according to a third-party inmate information service used by the county. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

A warrant filed in district court alleged that Durham committed kidnapping “by unlawfully restraining the victim, removing the victim from one place to another without the consent of the victim.”

It said Durham carried out the alleged kidnapping “for the purpose of terrorizing” Reynolds and “doing serious bodily injury” to her.

On Monday, District Judge Robert J. Crumpton ordered the defendant to remain in custody without bond, citing his “significant criminal record.”

State prison records show Durham has served time for second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and possession of a gun by a felon, among other offenses. Read more at NBC News

NY Post: The slain mom, Brandi, used her house for “keeping and selling controlled substances,” including “marijuana and fentanyl,” according to a criminal indictment.

She was also charged with “trafficking opium or heroin” of more than 4 grams but less than 14 grams with the intent to sell and conspiring with her husband to sell marijuana.