Second Orange County trial date set for Issiah Ross, convicted in teen’s murder with mistrial in girl’s death

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Issiah Ross is set to again face an Orange County jury on June 7, 2027, as he’s tried a second time for the murder of 14-year-old Lyric Woods.

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Ross was convicted earlier this year of second-degree murder in the death of 18-year-old Devin Clark.

The two teenagers were killed together on the same night in September 2022 in Orange County. Their bodies were found off a gravel road.

In the original trial, the jury convicted Ross of Clark’s murder, but couldn’t come to a unanimous decision in the death of Woods. A judge accepted the one conviction and declared a mistrial in Woods’ death.

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Prosecutors say Ross, who was 18 at the time, shot and killed both after picking them up and driving to a secluded area, expecting sexual acts from Woods.

But, Ross’s defense team argued that Clark shot and killed Woods and then turned the gun on Ross, forcing him to act in self-defense.

For the second degree murder conviction, Ross is serving 20 to 25 years in prison.

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