On December 27, 1984, around 9:30 AM, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting a motorist had located a deceased individual near a bridge alongside NC Hwy 171 in Washington.
Upon arrival, Deputies secured the scene and requested the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation with processing the crime scene and to lead the investigation. In 1984, the NC SBI had advanced crime scene processing equipment and experience along with additional investigators to assist smaller rural law enforcement agencies who were not as equipped.
The deceased was identified as US Marine Joseph Robert Russell, age 28 who was stationed at New River Air Station in Jacksonville, NC. Investigators learned Russell was originally from northern Virginia.
Although Deputies with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Agents with NC SBI, and Investigators with the Arlington County Police Department in Virgina collected evidence and conducted numerous witness interviews across multiple states, leads went cold. The investigation was routinely reviewed by the NC SBI’s Cold Case Investigation Unit.
In August of 2023, Detectives with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office met with a Special Investigator with the NC SBI’s Cold Case Investigation Team and conducted a comprehensive review of this investigation. As a result of the original facts and new information obtained during the investigation, Investigators believed that Russell’s estranged wife, Flora Jean Russell and her then boyfriend
Clifton Richard Tydings were responsible for Russell’s death. Both Flora Russell and Clifton Tydings are now deceased.
In November of this year, this investigation was presented to Seth Edwards, District Attorney for the Second Judicial District for review. Upon reviewing the facts of the case, District Attorney Seth Edwards determined that probable cause existed for the arrest and prosecution of both Tydings and Flora Russell for the murder of Joseph Russell, if they were still alive today.
Sheriff Hammonds would like to thank the NC SBI’s Cold Case Investigation Team, District Attorney Seth Edwards, and the Arlington County Police Department in Virginia for their combined assistance to bring justice to US Marine Joseph Robert Russell and his family.
This is just one of several unsolved homicides that are currently under review by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the NC SBI’s Cold Case Investigation Team.
If you have any information on any unsolved murder in Beaufort County, you are asked to call the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office or your local law enforcement agency. You can also call Beaufort County Crime Stoppers at 252-974-6400 or submit your confidential tip online at www.p3tips.com/195. Crime Stoppers wants your information, not your name.
Since 1984, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has drastically improved its crime scene processing capabilities and investigative abilities through the purchase of updated crime scene equipment and specialized training
