WARRANTS: Triple murder suspect confessed to victims' son

PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - The son of a couple killed Friday afternoon told deputies that David Lever admitted shooting his parents and he believed the man has substance abuse issues.

That information was found in search warrants obtained by WITN today.

Killed Friday afternoon were an elderly couple and a retired East Carolina University professor who lived about four miles apart.

Lever, a Greenville realtor who was a neighbor of one of the victims, has been charged with three counts of murder.

The search warrants were for both crime scenes, on Peace Ridge Court and Forest Acres Drive, as well as for Lever’s home which is also on Forest Acres Drive.

Sheriff Paula Dance said on Monday they believe 64-year-old Enrique Reyes was shot dead first in the driveway of his Forest Acres Drive home, and then Lever killed 80-year-old Anthony Gribble and 76-year-old Paula Gribble at their home on Peace Ridge Court.

Dance says the couple’s son, identified in warrants as T.D. Gribble, called 911 to say he was holding Lever at gunpoint after the man shot his parents.

A search warrant says the son had gotten a call from his mother saying Lever was at their home. Records show the younger Gribble lives next door to his parents.

“Once he entered the yard he saw David Lever walking from the front door out into the yard,” the search warrant said. “Mr. Gribble stated that David Lever then told him he killed his parents.”

The son told investigators that Lever was an acquaintance of his parents and that he was their real estate agent when they bought their home.

“Mr. Gribble also stated that Mr. Lever was not of sound mind and has substance abuse issues,” the warrant read.

The warrant also says deputies found the other victim, Reyes, with a gunshot wound to his forehead.

Reyes lived four doors down from Lever and another search warrant says “it is also believed that Reyes is an associate of David Lever.”

Inside Lever’s home, a search warrant says they found several guns “scattered about” and a rifle was found on the back patio near the rear door. A rifle was found lying on a table while inside the master bedroom “it appeared that a firearm had also been recently discharged into the floor.”

The warrants also say that Lever had a live-in girlfriend. “There are instances of domestic violence between the two in which the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office has investigated in the recent past,” the warrant said. The woman was not found in Lever’s home and the warrant says deputies had been unsuccessful in locating her.

Sheriff Dance said yesterday that they found more than 50 firearms in Lever’s home, more in his van, as well as weapons in the home of the Gribbles. So far, a complete inventory of items seized during the searches has yet to be filed with the Clerk of Court.

Records obtained by WITN show deputies have had multiple interactions with Lever over the years.

• June 14, 2010 deputies were called to Lever’s home for a report of a stolen Rolex watch
• January 28, 2015 deputies were called to a home on Pocosin Road for a larceny where Lever was listed as someone “other involved”
• August 18, 2023 deputies were called to Lever’s home for a mental health call involving him
• August 20, 2023 deputies were called to Lever’s home to assist with involuntary commitment procedures
• January 20, 2024 deputies were called to Lever’s home for a domestic dispute
• February 20, 2024 deputies were called to Lever’s home for domestic violence/assault on a female case