After more than three years since the deaths of Lyric Woods and Devin Clark in rural Orange County, the local prosecution and defense will fully lay out their cases to determine guilt of a young man suspected in the murder case.
The trial of Issiah Mehki Ross over the deaths of Woods and Clark formally began on Monday after the 21-year-old suspect rejected a plea deal that would have reduced his charges from first degree murder to second degree murder with a minimum of 20-25 years in prison for each charge. As a result, a jury was selected Tuesday and Wednesday, with opening arguments expected soon and testimony expected to continue through the week in Orange County’s superior court. Superior Court Judge Stephanie Reese, a visiting judge who typically serves in Judicial District 18B in Guilford County, is presiding over the case.
Here are background details established in the case and what led to the 2026 trial:
Woods and Clark Go Missing, Discovered in Power Line Easement
The greater Orange County community’s attention turned to Lyric Woods — a 14-year-old Cedar Ride High School student and Efland resident — and 18-year-old Mebane high schooler Devin Clark on Saturday, Sep. 17, 2022. Woods’ family filed a missing persons report with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office after she was not found in her bedroom that morning — while Clark’s mother turned to Facebook and entered her son into the National Crime Information Center Index after not hearing from him since Friday night. The Orange County District Attorney’s office later said that Woods and Clark, who were known to be friends, met up with each other in the early morning hours of Sep. 17. Investigators say Clark asked Issiah Ross, who was then 17-years-old, if he could give him a ride using Ross’ mother’s car to pick up Woods and hang out. Hours later, both Clark and Woods were shot and killed.
Photo of Lyric Woods via Facebook. Photo of Devin Clark via the National Gun Violence Memorial.
While the community’s desperation to find the two teenagers increased and social media comments created a frenzy of speculation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office received at call around 3 p.m. on Sep. 18 that changed everything. Two men who were riding four-wheelers along a trail by a power line easement near Buckhorn Road spotted two bodies with gunshot wounds, with law enforcement reporting the victims to be Woods and Clark after arrival and investigation.
“Although we do not have that confirmation yet, in the absence of any other missing persons matching the descriptions of the individuals located, the tragic but logical conclusion is increasingly clear,” Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said on Sep. 19, 2022 in an announcement about the bodies’ identities. “This loss is devastating for the victims’ families and friends, and indeed for the entire community.”
During a Jan. 2023 court hearing over a motion to change Ross’ bond, investigators said neighbors living near the crime scene reported hearing gunshots shortly after 2 a.m. on Sep. 17. Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr said the two teenagers’ wounds looked like an “execution,” with both suffering gunshots to their backs and Clark suffering one to the head. In total, 13 shell casings were recovered from the scene, with some found in groups. Orr described the two teens’ bodies as being “dragged and/or placed” in an area of tall brush, both on their backs with their arms out-stretched.
Issiah Ross at the time of his arrest in Oct. 2022. (Photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.)
Ross Arrested After Search and Juvenile Process
While Orange County law enforcement said it had enough evidence to suspect Ross from the start of its investigation, his being 17-years-old at the time of the crime complicated how the sheriff’s office could communicate about and pursue the minor after he fled to Delaware. After confirming Woods and Clark’s deaths on Sep. 19, 2022, Sheriff Blackwood released a statement on Sep. 20 saying a juvenile suspect had been identified and was being sought in the case. More details, including to the victims’ families and law enforcement agencies in other states, could not be shared due to North Carolina laws around prosecuting 16- and 17-year-olds as adults.
Ross was arrested on Oct. 5 and brought back to North Carolina to face his charges after Orange County investigators partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Delaware state authorities. District 15B District Attorney Jeff Nieman said his office would seek to elevate the charges to superior court and try Ross as an adult — which eventually led to him being publicly identified as the apprehended suspect in Nov. 2022.
Since then, Ross — partially through his attorney, Jonathan Trapp of Raleigh’s Trapp Law, PLLC — has claimed he acted in self-defense on the morning of Sep. 17, 2022. The prosecution said a witness recounted Ross telling them that a struggle broke out while the three teenagers were in his mother’s SUV over a firearm Clark brought, which investigators identified as Clark’s father’s. Ross claimed that the gun went off in the vehicle, he overtook the gun from Clark, and he shot Clark inside the vehicle before shooting Woods in the car and disposing of the bodies.
In March 2025, Ross entered a plea of not guilty over his first-degree murder charges. In the lead-up to this trial, Ross’ attorney indicated they will be arguing a self-defense case.
Ultimately, Blackwood lobbied for North Carolina’s laws to be updated to allow investigators to share photos and bulletins about 17-year-olds who are at large and wanted for serious crimes, like murder. House Bill 186, which was named “Lyric and Devin’s Law” in the victims’ honor, was approved by the North Carolina General Assembly in Aug. 2023 and went into effect in Dec. 2023.
District Attorney Jeff Nieman’s office will prosecute Ross in court, with Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr presenting the prosecution’s case. (Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
What To Expect in Court
With jury selection finished, both the prosecution and defense are expected to make their opening statements in Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday in Hillsborough. The prosecution will then present its evidence and bring witnesses to trial first, followed by the defense’s cross-examination and then the defendant’s case. The prosecution can make a rebuttal before closing arguments are made and the jury begins its deliberation. Ross’ trial is expected to unfold over several days and likely extend into the week of Jan. 19.
While Lyric Woods, Devin Clark and Issiah Ross’ families could be called as witnesses during the trial, they are able to attend for the full proceedings — unlike other witnesses to be called, as the court approved a motion for them to be sequestered from the trial’s events before their testimony.
If convicted on the first-degree murder charges, Ross will likely face life in prison without parole. District Attorney Jeff Nieman has said he will not seek the death penalty for Ross nor any other criminal during his tenure.
Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.
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