Agent Charged with Murder in Death of N.C. Auditor

Authorities searching a wooded area on May 20 found the body of a North Carolina insurance investigator who prosecutors believe was killed by the owner of an agency she was auditing.

Police searched for Sallie Rohrbach, 44, since she was reported missing May 16. Authorities charged Michael Arthur Howell, 40, an insurance agent, with first-degree murder in her death.

Chrissy Pearson, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Insurance, and police confirmed the body’s identity.

Her body was found near Fort Mill, S.C., about 25 miles away from Howell’s Dilworth Insurance Agency in Charlotte.

Rohrbach traveled 170 miles from Raleigh planning to spend several days auditing the agency. When family and co-workers didn’t hear from her, they called police.

She disappeared after completing what officials said was a routine audit of the agency following a complaint against agency owner, Howell.

Authorities said the slaying was connected to her duties as an auditor and that evidence was found in both her car and Howell’s vehicle. They have not released a suspected cause of death. “Needless to say we collected enough evidence from the cars to charge him with murder,” said Bob Fey, spokesman for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police.

Police began searching in South Carolina on May 19.

“We developed information that led us to her whereabouts,” Fey said. That included statements Howell made to investigators, but Fey declined to elaborate.

On May 20, Howell made an initial court appearance where a judge denied his request for a public defender.

Public defender Susan Weigand appeared with Howell and argued he could not afford to pay for two attorneys, so he would be entitled as a defendant in a capital murder case.

But District Court Judge Bill Constangy, citing Howell’s $6,000 monthly income and $7,200 in expenses, ruled he has enough income to pay for his own defense.

NCDOI’s Pearson said Rohrbach was one of four agency examiners employed by the insurance department. The examiners generally follow up on “run-of-the-mill complaints” and normally work alone, Pearson added. The examiners do not have law enforcement authority.

While Pearson could not disclose the nature of the grievance against Howell’s agency, she said it was not a “heavy duty complaint.” She said typical complaints assigned to examiners involve finances, ethical concerns and licensing issues. Howell was the only licensed agent at Dilworth agency, she added.

Rohrbach’s car was found May 18 at a restaurant in Charlotte, less than a mile from the agency. The examiner had been scheduled to return to Raleigh on May 16.

Rohrbach’s husband, Tim, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that his wife sent him an e-mail May 13 that said she was meeting friends the next evening in Charlotte. She didn’t show up, he said.