By Coastal Carolina News Staff Writer
WHITEVILLE, NC — A Bladen County jury has re-convicted Norfolk Junior “Fuzzy” Best for the brutal November 1991 slayings of elderly residents Leslie and Gertrude Baldwin inside their Columbus County home. The late-night home invasion resulted in the physical assault, robbery, and double homicide of the elderly couple.
Investigators and trial prosecutors established that Best was familiar with the victims’ property, having performed odd jobs and yard work around their residence. It was established that the Best had targeted the residence to steal cash in order to support a drug habit. Linking “Fuzzy” Best to the crime scene through physical evidence, including a bloody fingerprint on a paring knife left beside Mr. Baldwin and biological material connecting Best to the assault.
Although a jury initailly convicted Best in the 1990s, that verdict was later overturned by the North Carolina Supreme Court. The high court mandated a new trial after post-conviction defense counsel discovered that physical evidence files and records had been withheld from the original defense team, violating disclosure protocols.
Because of extensive historical media coverage and local publicity in Columbus County, the legal proceedings—both the original trial and the recent retrial—were moved to neighboring Bladen County. Jurors there reviewed the revived evidence and found Norfolk Junior “Fuzzy” Best guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder, rape, armed robbery, and burglary. He receiived consecutive life sentences under the sentencing statutes active at the time of the 1991 offenses, ensuring he will spend the remainder of his life in prison.
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