The assistant manager of a Knightdale Domino’s Pizza store died Monday afternoon from injuries he received in a robbery early last Saturday, police said.
Kenneth “Kenny” Ring, 24, died at 5:20 p.m. Monday at WakeMed, where he was being treated for blunt force trauma to the head following the robbery at the Domino’s store at 2001 Widewaters Parkway in the Wide Waters Common Center.
“This was intentionally cruel beyond anything you can imagine,” Ring’s father, Dan, said.
Ring’s death launched the first homicide investigation for the small town’s police force.
“It just a very difficult, heart-breaking situation,” Mayor Russell Killen said. “We have been a small town and (are) now a not-so-small town.”
Investigators continued their search for a suspect Monday and asked that anyone in the area of the restaurant from midnight to 12:39 a.m. Saturday to contact them at 919-217-2261.
“Any possible information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, would be greatly appreciated,” investigators said in a news release.
Domino’s has offered a $5,000 reward for information in the case that leads to a conviction, and a fund has been set up with Eastern Wake Crime Stoppers to accept donations to go toward additional reward money.
Dan Ring said he hopes the award will encourage more leads for investigators to follow.
“We really need them to come forward, so that these individuals can get the justice they deserve for what they’ve done to this boy,” he said. “Justice would be the best gift this family could receive at this point.”
Police Chief Shawn Brown said he was accepting help from the District Attorney’s Office, Wake County Sheriff’s Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Killen said he had no doubt what they investigation’s outcome would be.
“At the end of the day, what we want to do is bring the person who did this to justice,” the mayor said.
