KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — A man has been deemed a habitual felon after a plea in connection to the death of a woman he was romantically involved with.
The Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office says that one Oct. 2, Derrick Jose Ward, 35, pleaded guilty to a count of voluntary manslaughter in connection to the death of Paula Kay Self, 55 , in 2022. He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of assault by strangulation from a different 2022 incident as part of this plea deal.
According to the DA’s office, just before 5 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2022, law enforcement arrived on Weatherton Drive in Kernersville about a shooting, where they found Self dead in the home. An additional male victim was located at a neighbor’s and taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound.
Investigators say Self and Ward were in a romantic relationship at the time. Video evidence showed him leaving the home after an argument and then returning later that morning, when the other victim says Ward killed Self and shot him.