Police investigating 'suspicious' death

Police tape surrounds the home of Dr. David Boyd during a murder investigation Thursday June 26, on Pine Tree Road. Photo by Sean Meyers

David Boyd

Map by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post

Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm speaks to the media during a murder investigation at the home of Dr. David Boyd on Pine Tree Road. Photo by Sean Meyers

Salisbury police stand along Pine Tree Road during a murder investigation at the home of Dr. David Boyd on Pine Tree Road. Photo Credit: Sean Meyers

By Sara Gregory

sgregory@salisburypost.com

Police still aren't sure what killed a well-known Salisbury dentist found dead in his bedroom Thursday.

Dr. James David Boyd, 47, of 9 Pine Tree Road, was discovered by a co-worker who went to his home when he didn't show up at work.

Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm said investigators haven't found any gunshot or stab wounds and aren't sure what caused his death.

But signs of violence have police calling the death "suspicious."

Wilhelm said there is evidence Boyd's death was not natural. He also ruled out suicide.

"There are signs of things having occurred in there that we need to investigate," Wilhelm said.

A preliminary medical examiner's report that could be available today should give police more insight into what caused Boyd's death. The State Bureau of Investigation is helping with the investigation.

Boyd's wife, Kathy, was vacationing at the beach with their three

children, a 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old twin boys. They were notified of the death and returned to Salisbury Thursday afternoon.

Boyd was last heard from late Wednesday night, Wilhelm said. He was expected at an 8 p.m. event that night but didn't attend. Wilhelm said there was no sign of forced entry into the home, which is on a quiet street surrounded by the Country Club of Salisbury's golf course.

Although police did not release Boyd's name until late afternoon, word spread through Salisbury quickly.

At Boyd's office on Statesville Boulevard, a police car sat parked in front of a sign on the door that read "This office is closed due to an emergency."

And at the family's church, a priest asked members to pray for the Boyd family at a service Thursday night.

Neighbors on Pine Tree Road said Thursday they were shocked by the suspicious death in the seemingly-safe neighborhood.

"You sure don't think about that happening around here," said Gordon Hurley, who lives a few houses away.

He said the Boyd children used to come over and play when they were younger. Hurley said he wasn't very close to David Boyd but that Boyd always waved when he rode by.

Friends said Boyd was very athletic. He enjoyed tennis until a knee injury last year, and also played golf. He enjoyed playing sports with his children, too.

"He spent a lot of time with his children," friend Victor Wallace said.

"He talked about them a lot."

Wallace, who has known Boyd for about 20 years, said Boyd was "quite kind and charming." The two played golf together and had travelled with others to Las Vegas.

Boyd is originally from Charlotte and graduated from South Mecklenburg High School before majoring in chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 1986, he graduated from UNC's School of Dentistry. That year he opened an associate dental practice in the office of Dr. William Snider in Spencer, according to an Aug. 17 Post article. He later moved his practice to Salisbury.

He married Kathy, who is an endodontist, in the chapel at Catawba

College in July 1988. They bought their Pine Tree Road home in 1998, according to property records.