Individual Details
James D. "J.D." FURR
(4 Apr 1926 - 6 Nov 2013)
Rowan County Sheriff’s officials have confirmed the identity of a man found dead at his River Road home as 87-year-old J.D. Furr. Furr’s daughter, Sandra Steen, 62, received significant injuries and has since been transferred to another hospital’s intensive care unit. The two were found outside the home, located in the 6200 block of River Road, just off Stokes Ferry Road, by a relative who went by the house this morning about 8:15 a.m. The man was found near the back of the house and his daughter was lying in the driveway. Officials said Steen was taken to Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, but has been transferred via helicopter to an unnamed hospital in this region. The extent of her injuries is unknown. Officials report it was an assault and they are searching for suspects. Investigators say there was an apparent robbery, but have not said what items were taken from the property. It is not known if the incident occurred sometime overnight or early this morning. There is no description of a suspect, and officers are asking neighbors or anyone who was in the vicinity for information that might help the investigation. Bloodhounds were used to search around the home, including surrounding wooded areas. The relative said everything was fine last night at 7:30. A relative went to the home this morning to help the homeowner with some work. The home is in a remote area, where neighbors are a distance away. Deputies want to know about anything seen or heard in the area. Kevin Coughenour, a newspaper carrier, was making a delivery just after 10:30 a.m. when he stumbled upon investigators at the crime scene. Coughenour said he’s known the victim for at least a decade and said the was a nice, polite man. “I just can’t believe somebody would do something to this guy because he’s the nicest man you’d ever meet. He’s very nice and I’m shocked,” Coughenour said. He said one regular stops, the victim would meet him at the mailbox and stop to talk. The man sometimes gave Coughenour produce and eggs. “I just can’t believe this happened,” he said. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office at 704-216-8700.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has charged and arrested Jeff David Steen in the death of his grandfather, J.D. Furr, 87, and the severe assault of his mother, Sandra Steen, 62, at the River Road Home Furr and Sandra Steen shared. The Criminal Investigation Division worked the investigation and developed Jeff Steen, 40, as the suspect. Jeff Steen lists a home address of 807 Lauras Lane, Albemarle. Jeff Steen is charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He is being held without bond at the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. Jeff Steen was the person who called 911 on the morning of Nov. 06 to request medical responders and law enforcement respond to the 6225 River Road address in Richfield. As investigators worked to solve this case, evidence collected and facts uncovered continued to lead them to the suspect who was arrested today. In a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, officials write, “In an effort to protect the integrity of this case as it moves to the prosecution stage, there are no further details that can be released, until the case goes to trial. Sandra Steen continues in the recovery process, and is undergoing rehabilitation due to the injuries she suffered in the assault.
SALISBURY — Candace Steen Swift, the daughter of Sandra Steen, deliberately acted as a buffer between her brother and her mother as Sandra Steen lay in a hospital bed badly beaten and seemingly on the brink of death following a brutal assault Nov. 5, 2013.
Her attacker, Rowan investigators said, was Sandra Steen’s son, Jeff. The 43-year-old Steen has been in the Rowan County jail since his Nov. 21, 2013, arrest. Investigators said Jeff Steen attacked his mother from behind and beat his grandfather, 87-year-old J.D. Furr, to death.
Candace Swift testified Thursday about her distant relationship with her brother and how while her mother, Sandra Steen, was in the hospital, she became protective of her. There was a moment at Sandra Steen’s bedside that Jeff Steen asked to speak with his mother alone in her hospital room and Candace Steen told him no.
Swift said her brother became defensive, agitated and left the room abruptly.
She told the court her mother didn’t want to be left alone with her brother.
When asked about her grandfather, Swift said she considered J.D. Furr a hermit whose farm was his “safe place.”
She said she learned more about him later in his life while sitting at his kitchen table talking. She said they talked about how he made his money by raising and selling cows and selling vegetables from his garden.
“It was his pride,” she said of the farm.
Swift later testified she didn’t see her grandfather regularly, but probably saw or spoke with him at least every other month.
Darrin Jordan, Jeff Steen’s attorney, asked Swift if she would be surprised to know her grandfather kept a journal when someone came to the farm to visit him and she was only named in it twice in 2013. She said her grandfather was an honest man and if he said it, then it was true.
Swift confirmed what others have said in court that J.D. Furr always carried a small pistol in his pocket and that he was cautious about who he allowed on his property. She also corroborated other testimony saying her grandfather was not a morning person and did not wake early, but he always took his time in the morning, prepared breakfast and read his Bible.
She said she’d always known him to carry large amounts of cash in his wallet, much to his family’s insistence that he not carry so much.
Swift said she was not aware of whether her brother owed their grandfather money, but he did owe their mother, Sandra Steen, money. She added that their mother was working a full-time job and taking on overtime to help Jeff pay his bills.
“He was continuously one-to-three months behind. She was constantly taking care of it,” Swift said of her brother’s car payment.
Swift said she told her mother that she should make her brother more responsible for his own bills.
Candace Swift recounted how she discovered her grandfather was dead and her mother assaulted.
She said she received numerous calls from a number she didn’t recognize. She did not pick up because she doesn’t answer unknown numbers. Swift said she then received a text message from Kevin Morton, a man who was taken in by her family. Morton grew up with the Steen children.
“He said, ‘your grandfather has been murdered. Your mother is in the hospital,’ ” Swift said.
Swift rushed to the hospital, thinking she only had moments with her mother. Her mother, Sandra Steen, did not die, but as Swift described, was pretty beaten up.
Swift said her mother was still wearing her blood-covered watch, her hands were dirty, her face and eyes were swollen. Sandra Steen’s eyes were swollen shut, her daughter recalled the day she first saw her.
“Her hair was red, which her hair was not red. It was soaked in dried blood from one end to the other,” she said casting a glance at her brother.
On the second or third day in the hospital, Swift said she and her then-girlfriend “couldn’t tolerate the smell of her hair,” and carefully washed Sandra Steen’s blood matted hair.
The women also found more injuries at the back of Sandra Steen’s head, Swift said.
Swift and her then-girlfriend cared for Sandra Steen from November 2013 to January 2014, Swift testified. She said afterward she begged her sister, Bridget Steen, to come help.
She said Jeff Steen would look after the animals on the farm, but he regularly asked to help his mother. Swift said she carefully told her brother it was better that she and her sister see to her mother because they could help her bathe.
Most of the people who were there at the farm were there because they just wanted money from Furr, Swift said, by working on the farm or by “swindling” her grandfather.
Much of Thursday morning’s testimony came from Adrienne Beaver Eller, the ex-girlfriend of Jeff Steen. She read from multiple text messages that she and Steen sent to each other, mostly regarding bills and why he couldn’t help pay them.
Eller said she repeatedly told Jeff Steen he needed to help her. She testified that Steen made at least double what she made and should’ve been able to help her. Instead, Eller said, she was the one paying the majority of the bills and he helped occasionally. She works as an assistant at her father’s Stanly County law firm. She estimated in 2013 she made about $10 an hour. She said Jeff often worked overtime and had a good-paying job.
Jurors heard about Jeff Steen’s bills via the many text messages Eller read in court. She dated Steen for nearly three years. The couple lived with her three children and Steen’s then 16-year-old son, Jordan, rent free in a home her parents owned in Albemarle.
Eller believed Steen would pacify her saying he would help pay, but then avoid the topic of bills altogether.
Jeff Steen owed back taxes in the amount of $752.56, child support, had written bad checks, had gotten into a wreck, his son had been in a wreck and he made car payments to his mother on two vehicles.
Jeff Steen admitted to Eller that he could stand to save money by not buying things from online auction sites.
Steen’s father, Billy, also testified he never loaned his son money because “I didn’t have no money to loan him.”
“He should’ve been making his own payments and buying his own car,” Billy Steen said of his son.
Billy Steen said his son was the one who called to tell him about J.D. Furr’s death and Sandra Steen’s attack. Billy Steen said his son was crying while on the phone.
Billy said when he first saw his ex-wife Sandra Steen in the hospital, “she looked like she was gonna die to me.”
When asked if Sandra told him who attacked her, Billy Steen said, “my son, Jeff David Steen.”
Testimony resumes at 9:30 a.m. in Superior Court room No. 2.
Salisbury Post, January 20, 2017
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office has charged and arrested Jeff David Steen in the death of his grandfather, J.D. Furr, 87, and the severe assault of his mother, Sandra Steen, 62, at the River Road Home Furr and Sandra Steen shared. The Criminal Investigation Division worked the investigation and developed Jeff Steen, 40, as the suspect. Jeff Steen lists a home address of 807 Lauras Lane, Albemarle. Jeff Steen is charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon. He is being held without bond at the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. Jeff Steen was the person who called 911 on the morning of Nov. 06 to request medical responders and law enforcement respond to the 6225 River Road address in Richfield. As investigators worked to solve this case, evidence collected and facts uncovered continued to lead them to the suspect who was arrested today. In a press release from the Sheriff’s Office, officials write, “In an effort to protect the integrity of this case as it moves to the prosecution stage, there are no further details that can be released, until the case goes to trial. Sandra Steen continues in the recovery process, and is undergoing rehabilitation due to the injuries she suffered in the assault.
SALISBURY — Candace Steen Swift, the daughter of Sandra Steen, deliberately acted as a buffer between her brother and her mother as Sandra Steen lay in a hospital bed badly beaten and seemingly on the brink of death following a brutal assault Nov. 5, 2013.
Her attacker, Rowan investigators said, was Sandra Steen’s son, Jeff. The 43-year-old Steen has been in the Rowan County jail since his Nov. 21, 2013, arrest. Investigators said Jeff Steen attacked his mother from behind and beat his grandfather, 87-year-old J.D. Furr, to death.
Candace Swift testified Thursday about her distant relationship with her brother and how while her mother, Sandra Steen, was in the hospital, she became protective of her. There was a moment at Sandra Steen’s bedside that Jeff Steen asked to speak with his mother alone in her hospital room and Candace Steen told him no.
Swift said her brother became defensive, agitated and left the room abruptly.
She told the court her mother didn’t want to be left alone with her brother.
When asked about her grandfather, Swift said she considered J.D. Furr a hermit whose farm was his “safe place.”
She said she learned more about him later in his life while sitting at his kitchen table talking. She said they talked about how he made his money by raising and selling cows and selling vegetables from his garden.
“It was his pride,” she said of the farm.
Swift later testified she didn’t see her grandfather regularly, but probably saw or spoke with him at least every other month.
Darrin Jordan, Jeff Steen’s attorney, asked Swift if she would be surprised to know her grandfather kept a journal when someone came to the farm to visit him and she was only named in it twice in 2013. She said her grandfather was an honest man and if he said it, then it was true.
Swift confirmed what others have said in court that J.D. Furr always carried a small pistol in his pocket and that he was cautious about who he allowed on his property. She also corroborated other testimony saying her grandfather was not a morning person and did not wake early, but he always took his time in the morning, prepared breakfast and read his Bible.
She said she’d always known him to carry large amounts of cash in his wallet, much to his family’s insistence that he not carry so much.
Swift said she was not aware of whether her brother owed their grandfather money, but he did owe their mother, Sandra Steen, money. She added that their mother was working a full-time job and taking on overtime to help Jeff pay his bills.
“He was continuously one-to-three months behind. She was constantly taking care of it,” Swift said of her brother’s car payment.
Swift said she told her mother that she should make her brother more responsible for his own bills.
Candace Swift recounted how she discovered her grandfather was dead and her mother assaulted.
She said she received numerous calls from a number she didn’t recognize. She did not pick up because she doesn’t answer unknown numbers. Swift said she then received a text message from Kevin Morton, a man who was taken in by her family. Morton grew up with the Steen children.
“He said, ‘your grandfather has been murdered. Your mother is in the hospital,’ ” Swift said.
Swift rushed to the hospital, thinking she only had moments with her mother. Her mother, Sandra Steen, did not die, but as Swift described, was pretty beaten up.
Swift said her mother was still wearing her blood-covered watch, her hands were dirty, her face and eyes were swollen. Sandra Steen’s eyes were swollen shut, her daughter recalled the day she first saw her.
“Her hair was red, which her hair was not red. It was soaked in dried blood from one end to the other,” she said casting a glance at her brother.
On the second or third day in the hospital, Swift said she and her then-girlfriend “couldn’t tolerate the smell of her hair,” and carefully washed Sandra Steen’s blood matted hair.
The women also found more injuries at the back of Sandra Steen’s head, Swift said.
Swift and her then-girlfriend cared for Sandra Steen from November 2013 to January 2014, Swift testified. She said afterward she begged her sister, Bridget Steen, to come help.
She said Jeff Steen would look after the animals on the farm, but he regularly asked to help his mother. Swift said she carefully told her brother it was better that she and her sister see to her mother because they could help her bathe.
Most of the people who were there at the farm were there because they just wanted money from Furr, Swift said, by working on the farm or by “swindling” her grandfather.
Much of Thursday morning’s testimony came from Adrienne Beaver Eller, the ex-girlfriend of Jeff Steen. She read from multiple text messages that she and Steen sent to each other, mostly regarding bills and why he couldn’t help pay them.
Eller said she repeatedly told Jeff Steen he needed to help her. She testified that Steen made at least double what she made and should’ve been able to help her. Instead, Eller said, she was the one paying the majority of the bills and he helped occasionally. She works as an assistant at her father’s Stanly County law firm. She estimated in 2013 she made about $10 an hour. She said Jeff often worked overtime and had a good-paying job.
Jurors heard about Jeff Steen’s bills via the many text messages Eller read in court. She dated Steen for nearly three years. The couple lived with her three children and Steen’s then 16-year-old son, Jordan, rent free in a home her parents owned in Albemarle.
Eller believed Steen would pacify her saying he would help pay, but then avoid the topic of bills altogether.
Jeff Steen owed back taxes in the amount of $752.56, child support, had written bad checks, had gotten into a wreck, his son had been in a wreck and he made car payments to his mother on two vehicles.
Jeff Steen admitted to Eller that he could stand to save money by not buying things from online auction sites.
Steen’s father, Billy, also testified he never loaned his son money because “I didn’t have no money to loan him.”
“He should’ve been making his own payments and buying his own car,” Billy Steen said of his son.
Billy Steen said his son was the one who called to tell him about J.D. Furr’s death and Sandra Steen’s attack. Billy Steen said his son was crying while on the phone.
Billy said when he first saw his ex-wife Sandra Steen in the hospital, “she looked like she was gonna die to me.”
When asked if Sandra told him who attacked her, Billy Steen said, “my son, Jeff David Steen.”
Testimony resumes at 9:30 a.m. in Superior Court room No. 2.
Salisbury Post, January 20, 2017
Events
| Birth | 4 Apr 1926 | Lee County, NC |  | ||
| Marriage | 30 Apr 1949 | Stanly County, NC - Living | | ||
| Death | 6 Nov 2013 | Rowan County, NC |  | | |
| Military | in World War II | | | ||
| Burial | Fairview Memorial Park, Albemarle, Stanly County, NC | |
Families
| Spouse | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Tillman Lee FURR (1898 - 1978) |
| Mother | Minnie Lee GREEN (1898 - 1990) |
| Sibling | Rev. Mahlon Lee FURR (1921 - 2004) |
| Sibling | Colan Brice FURR (1923 - 2002) |
| Sibling | Alma Jane "Janie" FURR (1929 - 2019) |
| Sibling | Clara Jurlean FURR (1932 - 1992) |
| Sibling | Gladys Ramelle FURR (1937 - 2010) |
Notes
Death
Mr. J.D. Furr 87 of Richfield was called to be with the Lord on November 6, 2013. His funeral service will be at 2 PM on Monday November 11, 2013 in the Stanly Funeral Home Chapel with Tom Nussbaum officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 11:30 until 1:30 prior to the service. Mr. Furr was born, April 4, 1926 in Lee County, NC son of the late Tillman Furr and Minnie Green Hinson. He was educated in the Stanly County Schools. He was a veteran of WWII and retired from Alcoa. Mr. Furr was devoted to his family and faith and spent the remainder of his years enjoying the many blessings of a rich and full life on his farm. He lived in the Truth. In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by a grandson Marshall Salmon, and great-granddaughter Kassidy Carpenter as well as 2 brothers and 4 sisters. He is survived by his sister Alma Jane Harwood, daughters: Sandra Steen and husband Billy, Susan Salmon, Margaret Crisco and husband Danny, Barbara Parrazal and husband Silvino and Cynthia Bundick and husband Phil. He is also survived by 15 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildrenMilitary
Name: J D FurrBirth Year: 1926
Race: White, citizen
Nativity State or Country: North Carolina
State: North Carolina
County or City: Stanly
Enlistment Date: 13 Sep 1944
Enlistment State: South Carolina
Enlistment City: Camp Croft
Branch: No branch assignment
Branch Code: No branch assignment
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: Grammar school
Civil Occupation: Aeronautical Engineer
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 00
Weight: 100
Endnotes
1. North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005.
2. North Carolina Marriages, 1759-1979. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 February 2020..
3. Stanly County On-Line, http://www.stanlycountyonline.com/.
4. National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Original data: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database]; World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD..
5. findagrave.com.