Murdered 'teacher of the year' Maggie Daniels,31, was strangled announce police as her alleged killer smiles AGAIN on his second appearance at court. Suspect Sharman Odom, 34, appeared in court in Newton, North Carolina, for his arraignment.

By RYAN GORMAN
PUBLISHED: 16:35 EST, 4 August 2014 | UPDATED: 16:54 EST, 4 August 2014

Police in North Carolina confirmed at a press conference on Monday that murdered school counselor Maggie Daniels was strangled inside her own apartment in June.
The new details were released on the same day that suspect Sharman Odom made his first appearance in court for his arraignment in a Newton court and was pictured smirking again as he was reminded of the charges his faces.

Odom, 34, is starring at the death penalty for the murder of Daniels, 31 and when his mother Darlene Odom left court on Monday morning she was videoed flailing her arms at photographers and Newton police confirmed she will face three assault charges as a result of her actions.

Grinning: Local camera crews caught Sharman Odom grinning as he was cuffed and led away. Police say he  murdered his neighbor Maggie Daniels.

Investigators said that Maggie Daniels was asphyxiated inside her apartment on June 28 after a struggle.
'She died of strangulation,' said Newton Police Chief Donald Brown according to WBTV. 'There was a struggle.'

Newton police said that upon obtaining a search warrant last week, they discovered physical evidence, including a patch of missing hair near Odom's scalp that led to them charging the man on Saturday.
The hair was later found by authorities in Odom's closet, according to the warrant.

Push: Sharman Odom¿s mother, Darlene, tried to knock cameras out of photographers hands outside court on Monday and will face three assault charges

During the search of Odom's house on July 26 police also recovered cell phones that revealed selfies of the suspect with scratches on his face.
Investigators did say that tests have not been able to determine whether Daniels had been physically assaulted and still authorities have yet to find any evidence of a link between Odom and the Newton High School counselor.

Odom's current attorney told NBC Charlotte's Rad Berky that he is 'fearful' and is 'concerned about some things' - although he could not explain why his client smiled again during his court appearance.
Odom, 34, is the only suspect in the murder of 31-year-old Maggie Daniels, who was found dead June 28 in her Newton, North Carolina apartment, officials said.
Odom was Daniels’ neighbor in the apartment complex, cops told WSOC, and he has a violent past that includes accusations of rape and assault.

Daniels’ lifeless body was discovered on her bedroom floor by a neighbor who went inside after finding the door to the woman’s apartment open, according to WSOC.
There was no sign of forced entry.

Always smiling: Neighbors say the slain woman was always happy, full of life

The well-liked Davis (right) was told shortly before her murder to start looking into self defense

On Saturday, Odom grinned as police led him away in handcuffs after he was arrested.
‘Why do you have a grin on your face,’ a reporter reporter could be heard asking Odom on the video.
The accused killer did not reply.

Daniels was also previously warned by a friend to take self-defense classes ‘and to give serious consideration to other measures to protect’ herself, WSOC reported.

‘It’s absolutely shocking,’ a neighbor told the station.

‘I talked to him a little bit,’ Ryan Cline, whose mother lived next door to Odom, told the station. ‘He was really quiet and observant.’

Court documents revealed Odom was previously arrested on charges of second-degree rape and assault by strangulation.
Those charges were subsequently dropped.

‘She seemed really friendly,’ said another neighbor. ‘She was always smiling.’

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By ABC NEWS
12 hours ago
Good Morning America

Maggie Daniels, a popular North Carolina school counselor, apparently fought for her life before she was strangled, Newton Police Chief Donald Brown told ABC News today.

Police are also looking at what they believe are "selfie" photos in the suspect's phone that may detail injuries he allegedly suffered as a result of Daniels' efforts to fight him off, an officer told ABC News.

Sharmon Odom, 34, is charged with the murder of Daniels, 31. Odom didn't answer any questions as police took him to jail on Saturday, but had a smirk on his face. Odom, who lived in the same apartment complex as Daniels, appeared in court today.

Surveillance Footage Could Hold Clues in School Counselor's Murder

"She died of strangulation," Brown told ABC News. "There was a struggle... We think that she fought back when Sharmon Odom attacked her in her unlocked apartment.”

A search warrant obtained by ABC News indicated there were signs of a violent struggle in Daniels' apartment as she fought to live. Several items in her apartment were damaged, the search warrant said, but did not say what was damaged. She was found dead on June 28. Major Timothy Hayes of the Newton Police Department told ABC News that investigators believe Daniels' body was found a day after she was killed.

The warrant said there were three pictures taken on June 28, the same day Daniels' body was found, in Odom's phone. The photos showed a scratch on his right nostril and a scratch below his left eye, and the report said the scratches appeared to be "fresh," according to the warrant.

A patch of hair was also missing near Odom's scalp when police interviewed him, the warrant states, and a patch of hair was later found inside his closet in a shoe box.

“It did appear that Sharman Odom was taking selfies on the day Maggie Daniel’s body was discovered,” Hayes said.

No motive was mentioned in the warrant.

“There is no indication showing that they [Daniel and Odom] knew each other before this,” Hayes said. He also said there was no indication that Daniels was sexually assaulted.

“We are still waiting for the autopsy report to come out,” Hayes said.

Odom did not enter a plea today.

Before her death, Daniels served as a counselor at Discovery High School in Newton, a 13,000-population town located northwest of Charlotte.

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From her FB......I feel Horrible for her friends, students..and Especially her Parents..

August 28, 2014

The Catawba County District Attorney's office will seek the death penalty in the case of murdered Newton high school teacher and counselor Margaret Daniels.

Investigators have charged one of the neighbors in her apartment complex, 34-year-old Sharman Odom, with sexually assaulting and strangling her.

On Thursday, search warrants from the case were unsealed for the first time and paint a picture of Odom as someone who had been watching Daniels, almost to the point of stalking her.

In the affidavit for the warrants, investigators said at least two witnesses saw Odom near Daniels' end-unit apartment on June 27, the day she was last seen alive.

She had been photographed by a security camera at a Walmart earlier in the day wearing pink running shorts.

The warrants say her body was found the following morning by a neighbor.

Investigators wrote that Daniels was found dressed only in the same pink shorts.

The warrants said she had ligature marks on her neck and items in her bedroom had been broken or damaged, indicating a struggle.

A container of "Scrubbing Bubbles" with bleach was also found leading investigators to believe Odom tried to clean up after the murder.

DNA evidence was found on the body and investigators also found bits of hair in between Daniels' fingers.

One neighbor told police Odom showed him pictures of Daniels that Odom apparently downloaded from Daniels Twitter or Instagram accounts.

The mother of Daniels' boyfriend told police she caught Odom staring at Daniels when she would sun bathe outside and actually called him on it.

Around Newton, Thursday there was near unanimous support for the death penalty if Odom is convicted.

"I think people will be pleased with the death penalty but like myself, sad that it had to happen," said Andree Herman as she walked down the town's Main Street.

She added, "I feel sorry for his mother, but I think it's the right thing."


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