Wise gets life without parole for murders of two Manteo men, case resolved by plea deal

By Corinne Saunders | Outer Banks Voice on April 5, 2023

Jack Dempsey Wise, III. (File photo)

A plea deal for life without parole ended the case against Jack Dempsey Wise, III, who was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the December 2021 deaths of two Manteo residents, Michael Wade Berry, 35, and Norwood Clinton “Dickie” Armstrong Jr., 68.

Wise appeared before Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett on April 4, pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and received two sentences of life without the possibility of parole, according to Wise’s lead defense attorney, Richard McNeil of Jacksonville. The plea deal means the case won’t go to trial and Wise won’t face the possibility of the death penalty.

“I am very happy that justice was served in this case,” District 1 Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Bland told the Voice. “I hope that the family members have been able to find justice and closure.”

“I commend the District Attorney to agreeing to life without parole,” McNeil said. “In addition to the client saving his life, there’s a lot of benefits to getting a plea.” He said typical murder cases’ trials can last five to eight days, but capital murder cases often take four to five weeks at a minimum.

District 1 District Attorney Jeff Cruden had been working on the plea deal with Wise’s attorneys, who requested a continuance on Feb. 3, but accepted the plea deal Tuesday, Bland said. She credited local law enforcement and the State Bureau of Investigations for their work on the case.

“I would like to appreciate all that law enforcement did in this case,” Bland said. “We are only as good as the investigation they present. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations did a tremendous job on this investigation.”

Wise was on parole at the time of the murders for two counts of felony breaking and entering and felony larceny in Dare County, for which he was convicted on Dec. 4, 2018, according to Bland. He was released from prison March 9, 2021. Prior to that he had a long string of convictions dating back to 2001, which included other larcenies and breaking and entering. Most of the previous charges occurred in Hyde County, according to Bland.

In the murder case, Wise knew both of his victims personally. “They were friends and neighbors,” Bland told the Voice.

Wise had been intermittently living in a tent in Armstrong’s backyard, according to Bland. “Dickie, with his family, was trying to support him and provide him shelter.”

According to Bland, Wise confessed that he had asked Armstrong for money, which Armstrong refused to give him. Wise had stolen from Armstrong in the past. “Dickie said he was not going to give him any money, so he strangled him and shot him in the head,” she said. “The defendant was on a substantial amount of substances when the incident occurred.”

Armstrong was reported missing on Dec. 26, 2021. That same day, Michael Berry—a neighbor—confronted Wise, thinking “he had something to do” with Armstrong’s disappearance. Wise stabbed him repeatedly. “Sharp force injuries to his face, neck head, upper torso, external jugular artery and internal carotid arteries was the cause of death,” Bland said.

Neighbors, after hearing screams for help and a dog barking, went outside and found Berry’s body in their yard, she continued.

Wise confessed that he killed Berry to his father,” who “surrendered him to law enforcement,” Bland said. To law enforcement, he confessed first to Berry’s murder and then to Armstrong’s, she noted, providing the location in Currituck where he had left Armstrong’s body. After receiving the information from the Dare County Sheriff’s Office, the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office SWAT/Search and Rescue Team recovered the body from a wooded area north of Grandy, according to a Dec. 27, 2021, story in The Coastland Times.

Armstrong was found on Dec. 26, but it was believed his date of death was Dec. 22, Bland said.

“Nothing will bring him back,” Tina O’Neal, Armstrong’s younger sister, told the Voice over the phone on April 5. But she was appreciative of the plea deal.

“I do feel justice was served,” she said. “It keeps him away from anybody for the remainder of his natural days. I think that was the best we can hope for.”

“My brother was very tenderhearted,” O’Neal added. “He’d been that way his whole life.”

In Armstrong’s obituary, the family included a note about Berry: “His family would like to also honor Michael Berry by reminding us, ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’ John 15:13 KJV.”