Roxboro police found Steven Thomas Yarborough, 46, dead in his 108 Yarborough St. home late in the day on Sunday, Aug. 26. Until this week, Lt. Todd Boycher, the lead investigator in the case, had not publicly released a cause of death. On Friday, however, Boycher confirmed that Yarborough was stabbed to death, suffering “multiple stab wounds.”

Boycher also reiterated that $6,000 in reward money is being offered for information that can lead police to the person or persons responsible for Yarborough’s murder.

Gov. Mike Easley issued a Governor’s Reward totaling $5,000 last year and Person County Crimestoppers has also posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Yarborough’s death.

Boycher said Friday that investigators were “starting to narrow the case down some.”

He added that he and others work on the case nearly “on a daily basis. There are not many days that go by when we are not either interviewing, talking to people of interest or following up on tips received from Crimestoppers.”

In earlier reports, Boycher said he believed that Yarborough was familiar with whomever killed him. He maintained that stance Friday.

“We definitely think he knew his killer or killers,” said Boycher, who went on to say that the person or persons responsible are likely in Person County, but are not believed to be a threat to others.

“To date, all of the people we have interviewed in this case have local ties,” Boycher said. “We have no indication that there are further threats to the public because of this homicide.”

Officers responded to Yarborough’s residence on Aug. 26 after receiving a 911 hang-up call. The officers reportedly entered the home through an open rear door and found Yarborough’s body in the residence.

In an earlier interview, Roxboro Police Chief Jeff Insley said there were no signs of forced entry at the victim’s home.

Boycher said Friday that Yarborough’s residence was a “very involved crime scene. We sent a lot of items to the [North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation] lab and that has taken a good while to process.

“We hope to be getting back some information in the near future on the last evidence that we submitted to the SBI,” Boycher added.

Boycher asked anyone with information to call Crimestoppers at 336-330-0923.