In a harrowing twist of fate, Sgt. Rhett Barlow, tormented by the tragic loss of his mother, now stands accused of crossing the line from mourning to malevolence in a desperate bid for retribution.
Caulder was driving this dump truck on March 22, 2016 when he slammed into Michelle Barlow's minivan, killing her.
A national guardsman is facing one count of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and is being held on a $1 million dollar bond.
Advertisement
Army SGT, Rhett Micheal Barlow, 22, was arrested on Jan 6th and is facing charges for hiring a hitman to kill a truck driver who took his mother’s life 8 years ago in a vehicle accident.
Barlow was 15 years old when his mother, Michelle Simone Barlow, 42, was crushed between two trucks on March 22, 2016.
Rhett Michael Barlow
The truck driver, Donald Wayne Caulder Jr, collided with Michelle Simone Barlow while driving his Freightliner dump truck. Michelle Barlow was operating a Toyota Sienna minivan during the collision.
Advertisement
An investigation by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol revealed that the trailer’s brakes were non-functional as they were not connected to the truck.
The force of the impact caused Michelle Barlow’s minivan to collide with the rear of a tractor-trailer truck driven by Marvin Douglas Erb, then 49, from Danville, Virginia. The dump truck partially came to rest on top of Michelle Barlow’s minivan.
Advertisement
Caulder, aged 29 at the time, was arrested and subsequently convicted in January 2017 of misdemeanor death by vehicle and failure to reduce speed.
According to the North Carolina Department of Corrections, Caulder was given a sentence with special probation.
Special probation is a term for a split sentence, meaning a period of active incarceration while on probation.
Advertisement
Barlow was arrested by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division while undergoing training at Fort Liberty, located in North Carolina, during the weekend of Jan 6th. He was transferred to the custody of the Wake Forest Police Department and went to court on Jan 8.
On January 8, 2024, Barlow made a court appearance, in which the judge decided that he would be held in custody on a $1 million bond and ordered a mental health evaluation.
It was disclosed by prosecutors on Monday that Barlow had acquired an AR-15 rifle on the same day he attempted to hire a hitman. Additionally, he had reportedly sought an Army transfer to a location nearer to Caulder.
The soldier serves with the North Carolina Guard’s 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has been a member since 2019, according to a North Carolina National Guard spokesperson.
They stated that they will continue to cooperate with local authorities during the ongoing investigation.
