Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A man wanted on drug charges in the state of New Jersey was questioned by police and State Bureau of Investigation agents Monday at the Tyrrell County jail in connection with the brutal

weekend slaying in Manteo of New Jersey native Stacey Stanton, according to Tyrrell County Sheriff Roy Brickhouse.

Brickhouse confirmed Wednesday that investigators from Dare County questioned a suspect his officers had picked up earlier on a New Jersey drug warrant, and Brickhouse said the suspect was still in Tyrrell County Jail Wednesday.

“He was interviewed at this office,” Brickhouse said “We have him on a fugitive warrant.”

The suspect is from Tyrrell County, but has friends in Dare County. Brickhouse said the suspect is calendared for a court appearance in Tyrrell County District Court Tuesday and bond could be set then.

He said he did not know what the highest possible bond could be on the “crack” cocaine charge faced by the suspect.

During a press conference Tuesday night Manteo Police Chief Steve Day, Lt. Col. Jasper Williams of Dare County Sheriff’s Office and two SBI agents refused to name any suspects.

“We’re not at the stage of the investigation to have any suspects,” Day said.

He did say that the murder weapon had not been found up to that time and investigators did not know what it is, but they were looking for a knife, scissors or sharp object which might have

been used to cut the victim’s throat.

Miss Stanton was found lying in a pool of blood in her apartment Saturday by a co-worker from the Duchess of Dare Restaurant in Manteo when she did not show up for her 2 p.m. shift at the restaurant.

Cautioning the community about the rumors circulating regarding the killing, Chief Day said Tuesday night, “Many, many rumors have come back to us regarding this case and some of

them are bordering on the ridiculous.” He did not elaborate.

Asked if there had been any forced entry, he said this has not been determined for a certainty, and he also said he could not comment on any drug connection in the case.

Defending investigators’ refusal to reveal what they have found so far, Day said, “The premature release of information can harm the investigation, and we just can’t afford to do it.”

“One person knows what has happened, and we don’t want to give them anything,” Day said.

Williams said investigators could not say anything about the condition of the body because all evidence would have to go through the trial stage, and graphic details might needlessly complicate a trial.

“If an individual in any crime is apprehended, the trial s another separate ordeal,” Day said

Day, who resigned two weeks ago but reconsidered after town officials agreed to make some operating adjustments to allow him more voice in policy decisions regarding his department, said, “I left Saturday and I felt like I was 26. Today I think you could turn the numbers around.”

To see the scans of the archived newspaper page where this article appeared, click here.

READ MORE ARTICLES RELATED TO THE STANTON CASE HERE.