The man who allegedly killed two elderly women in Roanoke Rapids Friday night was their neighbor, police Chief Jeff Hinton said today.

Hinton said 28-year-old Tony Maurice Gorham, a convicted felon with a long criminal history, apparently asked one of the victims to use her phone as she talked to a relative.

The victim told the relative a neighbor needed to use the phone and said she would call back.

Soon after that, 92-year-old Maxine McCrary and her 65-year-old daughter, Nancy Burgess, were stabbed to death and robbed of personal items.

When the victims didn’t call back police were called for a welfare check and officers walked into what Hinton described as a brutal murder scene at McCray’s home at 311 Highway 158.

It was not clear whether McCrary’s daughter was visiting her for Mother’s Day.

Police received the call shortly before 11:15 Friday night and investigators worked until the morning following leads that led to the arrest of Gorham. He was found at an apartment on Oakridge Drive around 4:30 this morning.