Man accused of stabbing ex-girlfriend to death outside grocery store faces new charge

LUMBERTON, N.C. (WPDE) — A man is facing a new charge in the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend, 31-year-old Kayla Hammonds, according to Robeson County District Attorney Matthew Scott.

Scott said 37-year-old Desmond Lee Sampson, 37, is charged with felony violation of the domestic violence protection order.

Scott added that Sampson had a first appearance hearing Monday on the charge.

The hearing was continued until December 6.

Sampson will also have a second appearance on charges of first-degree murder in Hammonds' death.

Hammonds was stabbed multiple times last Monday as she shopped for groceries at the Food Lion on Elizabeth Town Road in Lumberton, according to police.

WPDE reviewed copies of the protection order Hammonds filed against Sampson in October.

She wrote the following against Sampson:

• 10-21-22 Damage property by throwing a brick into window and flattening tires.
• 8-13-22 Assault to include breaking finger, assault and battery and sexual assault.
• Social media: posting nudes and medical records.
• Threats: slit her throat, kill plaintiff (more than 10 written threats)

A protection order request filed against Sampson by Hammonds in July of 2021 reads:

Assaulted, damaged property and theft. Has repeated threatened to kill and burst car tires on July 13, 2021 while was in court for this depo.

Sampson filed a request form seeking protection against Hammonds in August 2021, but that request was denied. Court records don't specify why his request wasn't granted.

WPDE found at least five cases at the Robeson County Courthouse filed against Sampson with crimes involving Hammonds. The charges involve injury to real property and injury to personal property and threatening phone calls.

WPDE also learned that three of the charges were dropped because the "victim failed to appear," according to court records.

Hammonds' grandparents, J.W. and Resa Hammonds, said she was too afraid to face Sampson in court.

Fear. The attorney said I could see the fear on her face. And he knew Kayla all of her life," said J.W. Hammonds.

J.W. Hammond said an attorney, who is a close friend of the family, talked with Kayla on the day of one of the hearings.

He told me that one day in court, she came to his office and asked him because she stayed at his office until court either reconvened or when the court system opened. Because she feared. She didn’t want to sit in her car on the street."

Kayla's sister, Morgan Hammonds, said she went with Kayla to one of the hearings and she was terrified.

She just kept shaking. She kept looking back to see if he was coming in the door and stuff. Yes, I can remember her doing that. She kept looking back. We sat in the courthouse maybe about four hours before they actually got to her case," said Morgan Hammonds.

The Hammonds said their goal now is to lobby lawmakers to make changes to laws so that women won't have to face those accused of hurting them in court.

I told several people my granddaughter‘s death would not be in vain," J.W. Hammonds said. "There is going to be change. And if Kayla, if there’s a possibility that she can look down where she’s at ... she would smile from heaven. We want it to be called Kayla’s Law. That’s a law wanted to be so women, years from now, can say if it would not have been for Kayla’s law, where would I have been? I could have been dead."

Sampson has been moved from the Robeson County Detention Center to another facility for safekeeping purposes.

Officials said they can't go into additional reasons for the move due to federal health privacy laws.