Brevard woman found guilty of murder

BREVARD – A woman who stabbed a man to death while trying to get money for crack cocaine will spend the rest of her life in prison.

A Transylvania County jury this week found Melissa Amber Dalton guilty of first-degree murder in the August 2009 slaying of Richard Holden.

Dalton, 31, also was convicted of assault with deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in the stabbing of Holden’s fiancé, Naomi Jean Barker, District Attorney Greg Newman said.

“Ms. Dalton was desperate for crack cocaine and was willing to kill for it,” he said. “She wanted money from Mr. Holden so she could buy more crack.”

Dalton, who lived near Holden in the Pine Crest public housing complex in Brevard, forced her way into his apartment and demanded money, then stabbed him 17 times with a knife she brought with her, the prosecutor said.

Barker, who was stabbed in the neck and shoulder, was able to crawl to a cellphone and call 911 before she was rushed to the hospital, where she almost died, Newman said.

According to testimony at the week-long trial, Dalton was an alcoholic and crack cocaine addict. She testified she had no memory of the attack, and her attorney said she was legally insane at the time.

Dalton was treated for bi-polar disorder the month before the slaying, but Newman said that was no excuse for killing Holden, 57.

“We have a problem in the United States with people not taking responsibility for their actions,” he said. “There is always some excuse. There is a difference between insanity and desperation.”