August 18,2004

ROSELEE PAPANDREA 
DAILY NEWS STAFF

True bills of indictment were handed down by an Onslow County grand jury Tuesday, officially charging two people with murder in separate cases.

In the first, Carolyn Futrell, 33, of Richlands, was charged with killing 7-year-old Kayla Allen of Richlands in August 2003 and felony child abuse. Futrell was Kayla's guardian and is accused of intentionally inflicting serious bodily injury on Kayla by poisoning her, according to the indictment.

In the second case, Jamal Bullock, 20, of Charlotte was charged with killing Eitel Frederick Burke Jr., 23, of Jacksonville in December 2002. Bullock also was charged with second-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary and robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to the indictment.

Futrell was arrested by the Onslow County Sheriff's Department in May after a nine-month investigation into Kayla's death. A medical examiner's report released in January indicated that Kayla died from pesticide poisoning.

A toxicology report released a few days before Futrell's arrest indicated that Kayla had trace amounts of an antidepressant, Nortriptyline, in her liver and a "quantity not sufficient" of another antidepressant, Amitriptyline, in her heart blood, according to the report.

Dr. William Kelly, the physician who performed Kayla's autopsy at Onslow Memorial Hospital following her death on Aug. 24, 2003, said the trace amounts of the drug indicated she wasn't taking it regularly.

The antidepressants were not detected in Kayla's stomach, although evidence of the pesticide was present, according to the report.

"I don't know if she was seeing a counselor and prescribed an antidepressant and not taking it as she should," Kelly said.

The other option was that Kayla wasn't prescribed the antidepressant but had received it inappropriately, he said. It is unknown whether Kayla was receiving psychiatric care or counseling.

Onslow County Department of Social Services received 13 allegations that Kayla was abused or neglected prior to her death. Those allegations were made against both Futrell, who had Kayla in her care since the child was 2, and Nicole Allen, Kayla's biological mother.

At the time of Kayla's death, Futrell told authorities that Kayla complained of a cold and was given cold medicine and put to bed. At some point, Kayla got up to get a bottle of water. Empty water bottles were kept under the left side of the sink. A water bottle that had a pesticide mixture to kill ants was kept under the right side of the sink.

A water bottle containing Atroban, a pesticide used to kill flies, was found on Kayla's bed. The same liquid was in Kayla's stomach.

Bullock is accused of shooting and killing Burke in his mobile home on Dec. 1, 2002. Bullock also allegedly kidnapped Kimberly Espinosa, who was in the mobile home at the time of the shooting.

Bullock and three other men allegedly kicked in the door and found her hiding in a bedroom. They dragged her into the living room and demanded money.

The Onslow County Sheriff's Department arrested Bullock in May 2003. At the time, they also arrested 23-year-old Gregory Goodman of Charlotte and Tony Lewis and Victor Galathe of Jacksonville. They were charged with two counts of kidnapping, two counts of conspiracy, first-degree burglary and accessory after the fact to felony murder.

Contact Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@jdnews.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 238.