‘She was my life partner’: Husband of woman killed in road rage reflects on his loss

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. (WMBF) - A grieving husband is reflecting on the loss of his wife in a senseless act of violence along I-95 in Robeson County.

“She was my life partner and my best friend - and then there’s a lot of numbness that I just - I can’t feel any emotion,” Ryan Eberly said.

Eberly’s wife, 47-year-old Julie Eberly, was fatally shot in an apparent road rage incident on March 25.

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Sheriff: Mother of 6 killed in road rage shooting on I-95 South in N.C.
• Robeson County Sheriff’s Office releases new picture of suspect vehicle in deadly road rage shooting

The couple had just celebrated their wedding anniversary and were traveling to Hilton Head Island from their home in Pennsylvania when the shooting occurred.

The trip would’ve been their first without Ryan’s three kids and Julie’s three kids.

“This was kind of the first step to the next stage of our lives of being able to go away with friends and vacation with friends. This was the first time for us, so we were so looking forward to it,” Eberly said.

Eberly said he met his wife at a New Year’s Eve party several years ago, and he was immediately attracted to her.

“She comes walking into the house and kind of runs across the kitchen floor and slides in her stocking feet across the kitchen floor, and that’s just who she was,” he said.

Ryan Eberly wants justice for his wife of seven years, imploring anyone with information to come forward.

“You took a good person from all of us and I think you need to be held accountable for your actions,” he said.

As Eberly and the kids try to move forward, he says he hopes to continue to remember the positive aspects of his wife’s life.

“She loved everybody, and everybody loved her and felt supported by her, and now we have to figure out how to do life without her, and that’s going to be the hardest part,” he said.

Authorities said the suspect’s vehicle is a silver, four-door Chevrolet Malibu manufactured between the years 2008-2013. It has tinted windows and chrome trimming around the window frame.

A $20,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office at 910-671-3170 or email sheriff@robesoncoso.org.

Copyright 2021 WMBF. All rights reserved.