GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A woman’s body was discovered just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday inside the old News & Record building on Church Street.
Identified as Tiffany Holmes-Williams, Greensboro police say she died from a gunshot wound and are investigating it as a homicide.
Her death brings up concerns about the massive property’s security since it’s been sitting abandoned for years.
There are multiple places where people could easily get into the property even though there are some safeguards in place like chains.
There are suitcases and backpacks around the property, and doors and windows are boarded up, but the property itself is not a ghostland. In addition to lots of trash, there is human waste clearly visible in multiple locations. There is also a campsite. The News & Record even left behind bales of newspapers dated 2019.
We asked downtown Greensboro Inc. CEO Zack Matheny if the property should be completely fenced in.
“I don’t think it’s about protecting the building … or the property. I think it’s about protecting the people,” Matheny said.
Matheny recently toured the property and saw evidence of people living there. He says the city must do more for the homeless community.
“I think it’s shelter. I think it’s food. I think it’s workforce development. I think it’s substance,” he said, also adding mental health resources to the list.
He says for him, a body found inside the abandoned property should be a wake-up call.
“At what point are we going to get people’s attention that we should be doing better?” Matheny said.
We alerted the city to what we found Wednesday, and they passed along the report to code enforcement. We also reached out to the real estate firm in charge of marketing the property, Cushman and Wakefield, and we are waiting to hear back.
