A man died after being stabbed in a wooded area near a Wilmington shopping center Wednesday afternoon, and police have since arrested a suspect on a murder charge, according to police.
Officers responded shortly after 4 p.m. on April 22 to reports of an assault in the 1800 block of Independence Boulevard in Wilmington, North Carolina. At the scene, they found a man with injuries consistent with a stabbing. The victim, identified by police as 47-year-old Anthony Todd Lane of Wilmington, had walked from a wooded area on the north side of Independence Boulevard onto the adjacent Independence Mall property seeking help. Officers confirmed that no part of the crime occurred on mall property.
Lane was transported to Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries. The department classified the case as a homicide and referred it to the Criminal Investigation Division.
As investigators worked the scene, officers located evidence in the roadway, prompting temporary closures on Independence Boulevard between Oleander Drive and Canterbury Road during peak travel hours Wednesday evening.
Following the investigation, detectives arrested 35-year-old David Eugene Bryan Jr. of Wilmington in connection with the killing. Bryan faces a second-degree murder charge. He was booked into the New Hanover County Detention Facility without bond.
Officers said the investigation remains active and asked anyone with information to contact investigators at (910) 343-3600 or submit tips anonymously through the Tip 411 service.
The case follows a pattern seen across the Carolinas in which violent incidents originate in wooded or unlit areas adjacent to commercial corridors before victims reach populated spaces. In South Carolina, the State Law Enforcement Division provides investigative backup to local agencies handling major cases, deploying specialized units on request. The WPD Criminal Investigation Division handled this investigation independently, relying on physical evidence recovered at the scene to establish probable cause for the arrest of Bryan.
Second-degree murder under North Carolina law carries a potential sentence ranging up to life in prison, with the specific term determined at sentencing based on the defendant’s prior record level and any statutory aggravating or mitigating factors.
