Lawson placed the calls on Wednesday. At approximately 11 a.m. that morning, he placed the first call, saying that he had just found his girlfriend deceased in bed.
When asked if he wanted to do CPR, Lawson said he believed his girlfriend was quote "beyond that." In the second call, which he made a few moments later, he requested that emergency responders not use lights to avoid drawing attention from the neighborhood.
Lawson and Fennell co-owned the house on Sawgrass Road where Fennell was found. The sheriff's office logged the incident as a cardiac or respiratory arrest.
The sheriff's office requested assistance from the State Bureau of Investigation yesterday. The sheriff's office has not explained why, but it may be due to Lawson's past employment by the department, which could introduce a conflict of interest.
District attorney Jason Smith told WHQR that due to a conflict of interest, his office had referred the case to an outside prosecutor, pending any resulting prosecution. Smith did not specify whether the conflict of interest was related to Lawson.
Lawson had previously worked with the Pender County Sheriff's Office for nine years, serving as a sergeant from 2006 to 2010. He ran for sheriff in 2014 against state representative Carson Smith.
Pender County Schools confirmed that Fennell, who had served as a teacher with the district for over 20 years, had been absent from Topsail Middle School since August. The district has not yet clarified why she had taken a leave of absence, or whether she was being paid.
A spokesperson for the SBI told WHQR that the agency had no new details to share at this time.
