North Carolina State Trooper Sgt. Nekime Oxendine has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of fellow law enforcement officer Adam Bean.
According to reports, a grand jury handed down the indictment on Wednesday. Bean, a captain with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, was fatally shot outside a home in Hope Mills on March 27.
And yes, there is allegedly a romance triangle involved. Apparently, regular relationship drama was not dramatic enough.
Reports say Oxendine and Bean were connected through a years-long love triangle involving a female police officer. What began as complicated personal business allegedly ended with one officer dead and another facing one of the most serious charges possible.
That is a spectacularly terrible way for a relationship dispute to escalate.
Bean — a 42-year-old cop who worked with the sheriff’s department for nearly two decades — was allegedly shot by Oxendine in the front yard of a woman both cops had been romantically linked to, the outlet reported.
When deputies arrived on scene, the woman, who is not named since she is a domestic violence victim, desperately tried to perform CPR on Bean, but he later succumbed to his injuries.
The woman, who also works for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, dated Oxendine before entering a long-term relationship with Bean, according to text search warrants obtained by News & Observer.
Oxendine is now facing a first-degree murder indictment. That means this is no longer just an investigation people are whispering about. The case has moved into the courtroom.
Text messages spanning 2022 and 2023 revealed that while she was dating Oxendine, the longtime State Highway Patrol trooper repeatedly “questioned and accused her” of having a tryst with Bean, the outlet reported.
“I see u have been talking to Adam!!! Best Wishes!!!” Oxendine texted the woman in July 2022, according to one search warrant. “Better tell that [expletive] to get ready too!!!”
She later dated Bean and lived with him until December 2025 — three months before he was fatally shot.
Text messages showed that the woman reconciled with Oxendine in February and March of this year, the outlet reported.
The case is especially shocking because the people involved were supposed to be the ones responding when situations got out of control.
Instead, authorities allege that one officer became the center of a deadly incident involving another officer.
Talk about taking workplace drama to an entirely different level.
The texts showed that Oxendine asked the woman whether Bean was more attractive than he was, and accused the officer of still having “the key” to her heart, a warrant said.
The woman told Oxendine that she wanted to build a future with him, but the trooper continued to question her commitment to the relationship up until a week before the deadly shooting.
Bean then asked the woman to meet him at his house after work to talk, but after initially agreeing, she changed her mind and stopped responding, the outlet reported.
The cop ultimately decided to come to her house, though she begged him not to. He later arrived at the woman’s home and asked her to come outside, stating that if she didn’t, he would blow his car horn and make a scene.
The woman then went outside, and Oxendine followed — spurring Bean to hop out of his vehicle and “move aggressively” toward the trooper, the warrant said.
Oxendine fired two rounds into the ground, but Bean kept walking toward him. The heated trooper then fired several shots at Bean, causing him to collapse to the ground, according to the document.
Oxendine was placed on administrative leave and is currently being held behind bars without bail.
There is also the painful reality for Bean’s family and friends. Behind all the headlines about a “love triangle” is a man who lost his life. No amount of gossip can change that.
“The Patrol respects the integrity of the judicial process and our system of laws that we all hold dear. This is a difficult and tragic event for all involved. While this criminal investigation has moved forward, the Patrol has been conducting a separate internal investigation,” The North Carolina State Highway Patrol told WRAL.
“That investigation is continuing and Sgt. Oxendine remains on administrative duty pending the outcome of the internal investigation.”
The court will now have its say, and that is where the real story begins.
