Lexi Solomon
@solomonlexib.bsky.social
Emerging news reporter at The News & Observer. Virginia Tech alumna.🇨🇺🏳️🌈
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
Remains of four children were thought to be in the trunk of a vehicle "for a long period of time." Just a horrific story. The latest from @solomonlexib.bsky.social.
Johnston County man arrested after confessing to killing his 4 children, sheriff says
Officials have identified the four children that Wellington Dickens III, 38, is charged with killing. They were found dead in a vehicle in his garage.
www.newsobserver.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Remains of four children were thought to be in the trunk of a vehicle "for a long period of time." Just a horrific story. The latest from @solomonlexib.bsky.social.
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
Johnston County man arrested after confessing to killing his 4 children, sheriff says. Deputies found one child alive; the remains of four others were in a vehicle trunk. (Via @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Johnston County man arrested after confessing to killing his 4 children, sheriff says
Officials have identified the four children that Wellington Dickens III, 38, is charged with killing. They were found dead in a vehicle in his garage.
www.newsobserver.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Johnston County man arrested after confessing to killing his 4 children, sheriff says. Deputies found one child alive; the remains of four others were in a vehicle trunk. (Via @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
I told my editor this winter I felt we were seeing a lot of murder-suicides, more than I'd ever reported on in my career. He told me I should look into it.
I'm sad to say that hunch was accurate, but it turned into a 3-part series on domestic violence homicides in NC. (1/6)
I'm sad to say that hunch was accurate, but it turned into a 3-part series on domestic violence homicides in NC. (1/6)
October 22, 2025 at 2:16 PM
I told my editor this winter I felt we were seeing a lot of murder-suicides, more than I'd ever reported on in my career. He told me I should look into it.
I'm sad to say that hunch was accurate, but it turned into a 3-part series on domestic violence homicides in NC. (1/6)
I'm sad to say that hunch was accurate, but it turned into a 3-part series on domestic violence homicides in NC. (1/6)
My partner has a TBI and it can be a daily battle. It was especially powerful for me hearing Officer Ainsworth speak in court today.
Story below:
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Story below:
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
www.newsobserver.com
September 12, 2025 at 4:35 PM
My partner has a TBI and it can be a daily battle. It was especially powerful for me hearing Officer Ainsworth speak in court today.
Story below:
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Story below:
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
Raleigh police arrest 2 in shooting at Big Ed's on Mother's Day. N&O reporter @solomonlexib.bsky.social has details about what happened. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
2 arrested in Mother’s Day shooting at Big Ed’s restaurant in North Raleigh
Here’s what arrest warrants reveal about the Sunday morning incident.
www.newsobserver.com
May 12, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Raleigh police arrest 2 in shooting at Big Ed's on Mother's Day. N&O reporter @solomonlexib.bsky.social has details about what happened. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
Wake County’s top prosecutor won’t seek reelection. Here’s more on her decision. Lorrin Freeman, who has served as district attorney since 2014, will step down when her term ends in December 2026. (Via @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/politic... #ncpol #wakepol
Wake County’s top prosecutor won’t seek reelection. Here’s more on her decision
Lorrin Freeman has served as district attorney since 2014.
www.newsobserver.com
May 8, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Wake County’s top prosecutor won’t seek reelection. Here’s more on her decision. Lorrin Freeman, who has served as district attorney since 2014, will step down when her term ends in December 2026. (Via @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/politic... #ncpol #wakepol
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
This sheds a little more light on a bizarre Garner kidnapping. But plenty of questions remain. The latest from @solomonlexib.bsky.social.
Court record describes night Garner mother and baby girl were kidnapped from home
A newly unsealed arrest warrant offers new details about what happened after three masked intruders entered the home.
www.newsobserver.com
May 7, 2025 at 10:30 PM
This sheds a little more light on a bizarre Garner kidnapping. But plenty of questions remain. The latest from @solomonlexib.bsky.social.
So proud of my colleagues. So grateful to the amazing people of WNC for welcoming me and my coworkers who reported from the scene. So in awe of this amazing team!!
May 5, 2025 at 7:27 PM
So proud of my colleagues. So grateful to the amazing people of WNC for welcoming me and my coworkers who reported from the scene. So in awe of this amazing team!!
BREAKING from me: A mom and her infant are missing from Garner after they were kidnapped at gunpoint.
Search is on for a black/dark Nissan Altima and three suspects, two men, one woman.
More below:
Search is on for a black/dark Nissan Altima and three suspects, two men, one woman.
More below:
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article305294396.html
t.co
April 29, 2025 at 11:17 AM
BREAKING from me: A mom and her infant are missing from Garner after they were kidnapped at gunpoint.
Search is on for a black/dark Nissan Altima and three suspects, two men, one woman.
More below:
Search is on for a black/dark Nissan Altima and three suspects, two men, one woman.
More below:
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
"Children are dying in North Carolina at the second-highest rate recorded in over a decade — and Black and American Indian youth are at special risk," according to a new report.
Details from @solomonlexib.bsky.social www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
Details from @solomonlexib.bsky.social www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
NC Black babies died at 3 times the rate of white infants in 2023, new report shows
The 2025 annual report from the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force shows worsening disparities in child deaths.
www.newsobserver.com
March 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
"Children are dying in North Carolina at the second-highest rate recorded in over a decade — and Black and American Indian youth are at special risk," according to a new report.
Details from @solomonlexib.bsky.social www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
Details from @solomonlexib.bsky.social www.newsobserver.com/news/state/n...
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
Former interim ECU chancellor charged in fatal Raleigh crash with teen motorcyclist. Dan Gerlach resigned in 2019 from ECU after photos and videos were posted online showing him socializing with students at local bars. (Via @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c... #nced #ncpol
Former interim ECU chancellor charged in fatal Raleigh crash with teen motorcyclist
Dan Gerlach is charged with a misdemeanor after an accident where an 18-year-old was killed on Falls of Neuse Road.
www.newsobserver.com
February 27, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Former interim ECU chancellor charged in fatal Raleigh crash with teen motorcyclist. Dan Gerlach resigned in 2019 from ECU after photos and videos were posted online showing him socializing with students at local bars. (Via @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c... #nced #ncpol
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
1 dead, at least 1 police officer shot and taken to WakeMed after shootout in south Raleigh. (Via @triangleeditor.bsky.social & @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
1 dead, at least 1 officer taken to WakeMed after shootout in south Raleigh
Police report “an active police investigation” just south of the Raleigh Beltline Tuesday night.
www.newsobserver.com
January 22, 2025 at 1:18 AM
1 dead, at least 1 police officer shot and taken to WakeMed after shootout in south Raleigh. (Via @triangleeditor.bsky.social & @solomonlexib.bsky.social) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
@ryanbeckwith.bsky.social is doing a great thing here, and I was happy to help out! So for those of you who haven’t experienced the joys of crime reporting before, check out some of my tips on arrest warrants:
yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
How to Read an Arrest Warrant
News & Observer emerging news reporter Lexi Solomon on a staple of the crime beat.
yourfirstbyline.substack.com
January 10, 2025 at 3:09 PM
@ryanbeckwith.bsky.social is doing a great thing here, and I was happy to help out! So for those of you who haven’t experienced the joys of crime reporting before, check out some of my tips on arrest warrants:
yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
yourfirstbyline.substack.com/p/how-to-rea...
Member of Gen Z here, and this article is so right: So many of my peers don't know what journalism is, or should be, anyway. Question is, how do we fix that?
formulaflash.substack.com/p/im-a-gen-z...
formulaflash.substack.com/p/im-a-gen-z...
I’m a Gen Z Journalist. My Generation Doesn’t Know What That Means.
The issue isn't media mistrust, it's that no one knows what a journalist is
formulaflash.substack.com
January 10, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Member of Gen Z here, and this article is so right: So many of my peers don't know what journalism is, or should be, anyway. Question is, how do we fix that?
formulaflash.substack.com/p/im-a-gen-z...
formulaflash.substack.com/p/im-a-gen-z...
A wild update on the Hope Mills craziness I previously covered at CityView from my friend @paulwoolverton.bsky.social
www.cityviewnc.com/stories/form...
www.cityviewnc.com/stories/form...
Former police major faces felony charges involving fentanyl
Former Hope Mills police major faces felony charges involving fentanyl. Is free on $10,000 bond. Next court date is in February
www.cityviewnc.com
January 9, 2025 at 10:02 PM
A wild update on the Hope Mills craziness I previously covered at CityView from my friend @paulwoolverton.bsky.social
www.cityviewnc.com/stories/form...
www.cityviewnc.com/stories/form...
Fun fact: I live at a Greystar property and had to pay a $700 security deposit because their AI software got confused by my offer letter having an hourly wage and assumed I didn't make enough. I wasn't allowed to resubmit a new letter. 🥲
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
NC accuses 6 landlords of ‘illegally working together’ to raise rents in RealPage lawsuit
An amended complaint names six landlords as defendants in ongoing litigation that North Carolina and several other states, along with the federal government, began in August.
www.newsobserver.com
January 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Fun fact: I live at a Greystar property and had to pay a $700 security deposit because their AI software got confused by my offer letter having an hourly wage and assumed I didn't make enough. I wasn't allowed to resubmit a new letter. 🥲
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
Why yes, I am using cat sticky notes in 2025 to make sure I do my daily tasks.
January 3, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Why yes, I am using cat sticky notes in 2025 to make sure I do my daily tasks.
Reposted by Lexi Solomon
Worst thing about Pamela Colloff's pieces? I have to decide whether to read it immediately or later when I can concentrate.
The correct answer is both.
The correct answer is both.
NEW, from me: Shaken baby syndrome--a diagnosis that has resulted in wrongful convictions across the country--continues to shape criminal prosecutions and child welfare investigations, under the name "abusive head trauma."
My story of what happened to one family.
www.propublica.org/article/shak...
My story of what happened to one family.
www.propublica.org/article/shak...
He Frantically Called 911 to Revive His Infant Son. Now He Could Face 12 Years in Prison.
Exonerations and new science continue to raise questions about shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis that lives on under a different name: “abusive head trauma.” Critics say the name deflects scrutiny whi...
www.propublica.org
December 30, 2024 at 3:31 PM
Worst thing about Pamela Colloff's pieces? I have to decide whether to read it immediately or later when I can concentrate.
The correct answer is both.
The correct answer is both.
Undoubtedly one of my favorite things I’ve ever reported on.
This is like a scene from a sitcom Christmas episode. City Hall! Professional skydivers!
2 arrested after early-morning Christmas Eve parachute jump from downtown Raleigh crane
Story by @solomonlexib.bsky.social
Read more at: www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
2 arrested after early-morning Christmas Eve parachute jump from downtown Raleigh crane
Story by @solomonlexib.bsky.social
Read more at: www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
2 arrested after early-morning Christmas Eve parachute jump from downtown Raleigh crane
The two men have been charged with trespassing, Raleigh police said.
www.newsobserver.com
December 24, 2024 at 9:34 PM
Undoubtedly one of my favorite things I’ve ever reported on.
I’m not going to pretend like this didn’t make my morning. Happy Christmas Eve, y’all, don’t jump from any cranes today.
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
2 arrested after early-morning Christmas Eve parachute from downtown Raleigh crane
The two men have been charged with trespassing, Raleigh police said.
www.newsobserver.com
December 24, 2024 at 1:52 PM
I’m not going to pretend like this didn’t make my morning. Happy Christmas Eve, y’all, don’t jump from any cranes today.
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Really loving Hanna Raskin’s explanation in The Food Section newsletter about the “taboo” of a paywall, and why it matters:
December 9, 2024 at 2:03 PM
Really loving Hanna Raskin’s explanation in The Food Section newsletter about the “taboo” of a paywall, and why it matters:
Did not expect to see a Fayetteville reference in this week’s WSJ magazine! Delightful.
December 9, 2024 at 11:09 AM
Did not expect to see a Fayetteville reference in this week’s WSJ magazine! Delightful.