Beloved girls’ basketball coach killed as two North Carolina school communities mourn
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Sheremy Gwenette Dillard, 57, built two basketball programs from the ground up during her career as an educator.
Two North Carolina school communities are grieving a woman who built their girls’ basketball programs from nothing.
Sheremy Gwenette Dillard, 57, was found stabbed to death inside her Raleigh home, PEOPLE reported. Her boyfriend, 60-year-old Rickey Harper, has been charged with first-degree murder after being taken into custody in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania.
Investigators credited Flock cameras with piecing together Harper’s movements during a search that lasted roughly two and a half hours, ultimately establishing that he had allegedly left the scene and traveled north.
Dillard’s professional footprint stretched across two districts. She worked as a recovery teacher and served as the first head coach of the girls’ basketball team at Felton Grove High School in Apex, which opened its doors last August. Before that, she held the same distinction at Carrboro High School, launching that program as its inaugural girls’ head coach.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools spokesperson Andy Jenks described a coach whose influence went well beyond the court. In a statement to WRAL News, Jenks said Dillard treated players, coaches and colleagues like family and never shied away from difficult conversations when advocating for equity and for what students needed. He noted that many current staff and students maintained strong relationships with her.
At Felton Grove, principal Robert Morrison sent a letter to families sharing mental health resources and emphasizing that the school would move through the loss collectively rather than individually.
For a program only a year into its existence, Dillard’s death removes the person who defined its identity. Building a first-year team means recruiting athletes who have never played together, establishing expectations and convincing a school that something worth investing in is being created. She did that twice.
No additional details about the circumstances leading to her death have been released as the case proceeds.