Nathan Lee Lowe pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, and the court sentenced him to life without parole.

A guilty plea and a life term are the judgment on the counts he admitted. They are not a jury verdict, and the public accounts still do not name a weapon or a medical cause beyond trauma. WACB’s plea story says deputies found “obvious severe trauma.” WHKY, carrying that story, says “severe trauma.” The Taylorsville Times, citing Sheriff Chad Pennell the day after the 2024 arrest, said “apparent trauma” and listed Lowe’s age then as 39. The plea coverage lists him as 41.

WACB reported that on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, Nathan Lee Lowe, 41, entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder in a special session of Alexander County Superior Court and will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. WHKY published the same account Saturday and credited WACB. Both reported the plea deal means he avoids the death penalty. Both reported the plea also includes malicious conduct by a prisoner and felony probation violation, and that those sentences will run at the same time as the life term. A plea and the sentence imposed on it are the judgment on those counts.

The killing they were resolving is the one deputies found on Nov. 25, 2024. WACB reported that at about 9:18 p.m. the Alexander County 911 center got a welfare-check call for 194 Russell Gap Road in Moravian Falls, and that the house is in Alexander County. Deputies could not get anyone to the door, went in, and found 86-year-old Betty Kerley Tedder dead. WACB’s Friday story says she had suffered “obvious severe trauma.” WHKY’s Saturday story says “severe trauma.” The Taylorsville Times, in a story published Nov. 26, 2024, cited Sheriff Chad Pennell’s account of the same call, the same address, and the same age, and said she had suffered “apparent trauma.” The Times reported deputies found Lowe inside and that he is Tedder’s grandson. WACB reported he was taken into custody and charged with the murder. None of those accounts name a weapon.

The age on the page has moved. The Times’ 2024 story, citing the sheriff, identified Lowe as 39. WACB and WHKY, writing about Friday’s plea, identify him as 41. From Nov. 25, 2024, to Oct. 9, 2026, is long enough for two birthdays. The stories do not give a date of birth. The 41 is the age on the plea coverage. The 39 is the age on the arrest coverage.

The extra counts were already in the file before Friday. The Times reported that at the arrest he was also charged with malicious conduct by a prisoner and held without bond, with a first court date of Dec. 2, 2024. WACB reported he was later charged with felony probation violation, and that Friday’s plea took that count in along with the prisoner-conduct count. The life term is the sentence on the murder plea. The concurrent time is the sentence on the other two. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.