Orange County Sheriff: Paula Floyd Murder Suspect in Local Custody After Extradition to N.C.

UPDATE: The Orange County Sheriff’s Office shared an alert on the morning of Apr. 10 saying Matthew Vukmer was in its office’s custody at the Orange County Detention Center. The local magistrate ordered him to be held without bond and he is expected to have his first court appearance on the first-degree murder charges at 2:00 p.m.

Below is the original story published on Apr. 8 about Vukmer waiving extradition and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrest in a separate case.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office recently provided updates on two ongoing investigations — including a murder case that caught the attention of the Hillsborough community last month.

On Monday, Apr. 6, the sheriff’s office shared Matthew Vukmer waived his extradition in Grayson County, Virginia, where he has been in custody since authorities arrested him on Mar. 6. Doing so will expedite the 53-year-old’s transport back to Orange County, where he will face a first-degree murder charge over the stabbing of Paula Floyd.

Vukmer drove to Virginia after attacking Floyd when she entered his residence on Mar. 6, according to the authorities. Vukmer’s wife called 911 to aid Floyd after the incident, telling the dispatcher her husband had left their Wyngate home just southeast of Hillsborough. A U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force tracked down and arrested Vukmer later that night in Grayson County. Following her death, multiple local media outlets reported Floyd had a regular housecleaning job with the Vukmer family.

“We will confer with the District Attorney and make plans for Vukmer’s transport back to Orange County where we will serve him with the North Carolina murder warrant,” Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said in a release on Monday. “At that point, the case formally transfers to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

“Although that transition is an important step forward in the pursuit of justice,” the sheriff added, “we are aware that no legal proceeding can undo the profound loss experienced by the victim’s loved ones. We continue to offer them our deepest condolences.”

In a separate case, the sheriff’s office announced Tuesday its arrest of 39-year-old Hillsborough resident Rudy Free on charges of second degree sexual offense. The office’s post on social media described it as the result of an “extensive investigation” that began after a person disclosed the crimes to a third party and law enforcement was alerted.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Free faces nine felony warrants for the forcible sexual offense charges, as well as three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery. North Carolina law defines second degree forcible sexual offenses as engaging in a sexual act with another person by force and against their will, or knowingly engaging in a sexual act with someone who is deemed “physically helpless” from a mental disability or incapacitation. Per its policy, the sheriff’s office did not reveal any information that could potentially identify the victim or victims in the case.

The local magistrate ordered that Free be held in the Orange County Detention Center without bond over the felony charges, while adding a $20,000 secured bond on the misdemeanors he faces.

Featured photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

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Orange County Sheriff: Paula Floyd Murder Suspect in Local Custody After Extradition to N.C.

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