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NC murder suspects caught in county

Two Charlotte, N.C., murder suspects were behind bars on Thursday after they were captured Wednesday afternoon at a Bland County rest area.
According to Bland County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Lorin Hanshew, deputies apprehended 21-year-old Leslie Morales and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Daniel Pataki, at the northbound Interstate 77 rest area in Bastian after they got a telephone tip from a traveler.
Hanshew said the caller, who was from the Charlotte area, knew from news reports that police were looking for a red Chevrolet Cobalt tied to a Sept. 9 murder that occurred at a Charlotte motel.
The caller gave Bland County police the car’s tag number, which matched the suspect vehicle.
Bland County officers went to the rest area on Wednesday afternoon and found the suspects outside. The rest area’s permanent restrooms are closed for renovations, but there are portable toilets.
Accused in the death of Morales’ mother, 46-year-old Alexandria Salem, the couple were apprehended without any problems, Hanshew said.
According to Hanshew and news accounts, Salem’s body was found near a trash bin outside of a Charlotte area business.
In statements to local police, the pair said they were traveling north, possibly headed for Beckley or Charleston, W.Va.
Awaiting extradition to North Carolina on murder charges, the suspects are being held in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin.
The Cobalt, which belonged to Salem, was taken to Charlotte on Thursday.
—Staff report