Woman charged with murder after man’s body found in the trunk of a car near RTP

Durham police have arrested a woman in the killing of a man whose body was found in a car trunk two week ago in southern Durham.

Sianne Wright, 23, has been charged with first-degree murder and felony conspiracy, according to a news release. She was taken to the Durham County jail, where she is being held without bail, which is standard for people charged with first-degree murder.

Officers found the body of a 39-year-old Jivon Cherry in the trunk of a vehicle on Glen Falls Lane, near Research Triangle Park, around 7:40 p.m., Sept. 13.

Investigators later determined he had been shot and said the shooting did not appear to have been random.

The grisly discovery was the fourth homicide in the city in under a week and came as reported gun violence was trending down.

As of Sept. 10, there had been 28 homicides reported in Durham, down from 35 last year at the same time and lower than the past five-year average of 36 by that time of year, according to police statistics.

As of Sept 10, there also had been a total of 172 people reported shot in Durham, 27 of them fatally. Both numbers were down slightly from last year.

ShotSpotter, Bull City United

Next month, the city plans to launch a one-year pilot program of ShotSpotter, a gunshot surveillance service aimed at getting police to scenes of possible gunfire sooner. It’s one of several initiatives, along with an expansion of the Bull City United violence interrupters program, that Durhamis undertaking to fight gun violence.

Police ask anyone who may have information about this killing to call Investigator A. Ramos at 919-560-4440 ext. 29245 or CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

The Durham Report

Calling Bull City readers! We've launched The Durham Report, a free weekly digest of some of the top stories for and about Durham published in The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. Get your newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday at 11 a.m. featuring links to stories by our local journalists. Sign up for our newsletter here. For even more Durham-focused news and conversation, join our Facebook group "The Story of my Street."