Credit: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Detectives with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Homicide Unit have arrested and charged a suspect in a nearly 40-year-old cold case homicide investigation.
As a result of continued investigative work, on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, James Thomas Pratt (DOB: 04/14/1962), was arrested and charged in the murders of 27-year-old Sarah Mobley Hall and her 10-year-old son, Derrick Mobley. Pratt was arrested at a hotel without incident in York County, South Carolina.
On March 14, 1984, Sarah Mobley Hall and her son were found deceased in her home in the 1400 block of Ventura Way in what is now known as the North Tryon Division. As a result of years of extensive forensic testing and evidence examination, the CMPD's Crime Lab and Cold Case Unit identified the suspect, James Pratt. Pratt was 22 years of age at the time of the incident.
The arrest of Pratt was accomplished due to the collaborative team effort involving the CMPD's Homicide Unit, CMPD Cold Case Review Team, CMPD Crime Lab, FBI Charlotte Field Office, North Carolina State Crime Laboratory, Bureau of Justice Assistance SAKI Funding, Parabon Nanolabs, Innovative Forensic Investigations, York County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The suspect has been extradited back to Mecklenburg County and is currently in the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Republished courtesy of City of Charlotte.