A Cumberland County deputy went to North Carolina yesterday to pick up a suspect held in a Robeson County jail wanted for the death of an individual.

The arrest report says 61-year-old Michael Ralph Daignault of Crossville is charged with second-degree murder.

He was brought to and processed into the Cumberland County jail.

According to the Tennessee Sex Offender registry, Daignault is a convicted sex offender. He was found guilty of rape in the 1980s.

The registry indicates along with the second-degree murder charge, he also faces the manufacture, sale, or possession of fentanyl.

3B Media News learned in July 2022, a detective with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department responded to the death of Christopher Hale. It was ultimately determined the victim died of the combined toxic effects of fentanyl and ethanol, and TBI drug agents joined the investigation. During that investigation, agents and detectives developed information that identified Daignault as the individual who provided the drugs to the victim.

On January 8, 2024, the Cumberland County Grand Jury returned indictments against Daignault.