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Fayetteville, Cumberland County

Fayetteville: Elijah Jamal Lee sentenced to at least 16 years in Topeka Street killing

The Fayetteville Observer reports an Oct. 14 guilty plea to second-degree murder in the 2025 death of Jylin Daniela Matute-Ayala, 22. The maximum term was not in the report.

ConfirmedThe main facts are confirmed by official or first-hand sources.

By Triangle Local Staff · Published

The Market House on Hay Street in downtown Fayetteville

File photo: Epicjeff (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What we know

Confirmed

  • Elijah Jamal Lee pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2026, in Cumberland County Superior Court to second-degree murder in the death of Jylin Daniela Matute-Ayala, 22, and was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison.Confirmed by Cumberland County Superior Court plea and sentence, as reported by The Fayetteville Observer (Oct. 28, 2026). The publicly indexed lead is what we could read; the rest of that page is paywalled
  • The Observer wrote that Matute-Ayala was found dead of gunshot wounds in the street on Jan. 13, 2025.Confirmed by The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 28, 2026
  • On Jan. 13, 2025, at 7:55 a.m., officers answered a 911 call about a shooting in the 700 block of Topeka Street and found a woman who was pronounced dead. The department later identified her as Jylin Matute-Ayala, 22.Confirmed by Fayetteville Police Department, as reported by CBS 17 (Jan. 23, 2025, citing the 7:55 a.m. clock and the 700 block; Jan. 16, 2025, naming her). ABC11, citing the department, also placed the call in the 700 block and wrote that she was found dead in the street
  • Later in January 2025, Fayetteville police arrested Lee, then 19, of Fayetteville, and charged him with first-degree murder. CBS 17, writing Thursday, Jan. 23, said the department announced the arrest that day. ABC11 independently wrote that he was arrested and charged on Thursday. WRAL the same evening named him and the first-degree murder charge.Confirmed by Fayetteville Police Department, as reported by CBS 17 (Jan. 23, 2025); ABC11 (Jan. 25, 2025); WRAL (Jan. 23, 2025)
  • He was held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond.Confirmed by Fayetteville Police Department, as reported by CBS 17, ABC11 and WRAL
  • On Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, Lee made his first appearance. Assistant District Attorney Kayley Taber told the court there was an existing relationship between him and Matute-Ayala, The Fayetteville Observer reported.Confirmed by Cumberland County District Court first appearance, as reported by The Fayetteville Observer (Jan. 31, 2025)
  • ABC11 interviewed Matute-Ayala's husband, Cristofer Puente-Mendoza, who said she was loved by many in the community and asked that people remember her.Confirmed by Cristofer Puente-Mendoza, as quoted by ABC11 (Jan. 25, 2025)

Still unknown

  • The maximum term of the prison sentence. It was not in the Observer report we could read
  • The written judgment, which we have not opened
  • Lee's age as of the October 2026 plea. Outlets gave 19 at the January 2025 arrest and did not restate an age in the sentencing snippet

What this means for you

Public safety
This story is a court sentence, not an emergency notice. It is not an official or emergency source. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

Instructions from Fayetteville Police Department, via CBS 17 and ABC11; Cumberland County Superior Court, via The Fayetteville Observer

This site is not the Fayetteville Police Department or a Cumberland County court. For the case file, use the court. This is not an emergency service. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

What happened

In Fayetteville, Elijah Jamal Lee pleaded guilty Oct. 14, 2026, to second-degree murder in the death of Jylin Daniela Matute-Ayala, 22, and was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison, The Fayetteville Observer reported Wednesday.

The plea was entered in Cumberland County Superior Court. A guilty plea is a conviction.

The newspaper's Oct. 28 account wrote that officers found her dead of gunshot wounds that January. The maximum prison term was not printed in the part of the page we could read.

Background

On Jan. 13, 2025, at 7:55 a.m., officers answered a 911 call about a shooting in the 700 block of Topeka Street, according to the Fayetteville Police Department as reported by CBS 17. Investigators found Matute-Ayala dead there.

Later that month, on Thursday, Jan. 23, the department announced it had arrested Lee, then 19 and of Fayetteville, and charged him with first-degree murder. ABC11 and WRAL independently named him and that count. He was held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond.

At a first appearance on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, Assistant District Attorney Kayley Taber told the court there was an existing relationship between them, the Observer wrote. This file does not repeat the search-warrant narrative from that day's story.

ABC11 shortened her name to Jylin Ayala. This file uses the Observer's fuller form. The station also spoke with her husband, Cristofer Puente-Mendoza, who asked that people remember her and said she was loved by many in the community.

Timeline

  • Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, 7:55 a.m.: Officers respond to a 911 call on Topeka Street and find Matute-Ayala dead.
  • Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025: City police announce Lee's arrest on a first-degree murder charge. He is held without bond.
  • Friday, Jan. 31, 2025: First appearance in Cumberland County District Court.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2026: Lee enters the guilty plea and receives a term of at least 16 years.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026: The Observer publishes its account of the plea and the minimum term.

What we don't know yet

Wednesday's report does not state the top end of the sentence. We have not opened a written judgment.

What happens next

He is to serve the term in the state prison system. We will update this file if a later court paper states the full range.

This site is not a police department or a court. If anyone is in danger, call 911.

Photos

Text-only. No outlet or department photos are used here.

Why it matters

A Fayetteville killing from January 2025 now has a guilty plea and a prison term of at least 16 years. Readers need the names officials released, that the plea is a conviction, that the original first-degree count was a charge, and that the Observer page we could read does not state a maximum.

Updates

  1. Oct 28, 2026, 5:55 PM

    The Fayetteville Observer reports that Elijah Jamal Lee pleaded guilty Oct. 14, 2026, in Cumberland County Superior Court to second-degree murder in the death of Jylin Daniela Matute-Ayala, 22, and was sentenced to at least 16 years in prison. The maximum term was not in the report we could read.

  2. Oct 14, 2026, 12:00 AM

    Lee pleads guilty to second-degree murder and is sentenced to at least 16 years, according to the Observer's later account.

  3. Jan 31, 2025, 12:00 AM

    First appearance in Cumberland County District Court. A prosecutor describes an existing relationship, the Observer reports.

  4. Jan 23, 2025, 12:00 AM

    Fayetteville police announce that Lee, then 19, of Fayetteville, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He is held without bond, CBS 17, ABC11 and WRAL report, citing the department.

  5. Jan 13, 2025, 7:55 AM

    Officers answer a 911 call in the 700 block of Topeka Street and find Matute-Ayala dead, the Fayetteville Police Department said, as reported by CBS 17 and ABC11.

Sources

  1. Fayetteville man gets at least 16 years in Topeka St. murder (The Fayetteville Observer, Oct. 28, 2026: Elijah Jamal Lee pleaded guilty Oct. 14 in Cumberland County Superior Court to second-degree murder in the 2025 shooting death of Jylin Daniela Matute-Ayala, 22; sentenced to at least 16 years; found dead of gunshot wounds in the street on Jan. 13, 2025. The publicly indexed lead is what we could read; the rest of the page returned paywalled. Maximum term not stated in that lead. Text-only; no Observer photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by The Fayetteville Observer · Checked Oct 28, 2026, 5:50 PM

  2. Man charged with woman’s murder on Topeka Street in Fayetteville, police say (CBS 17 / WNCN, Glyniss Wiggins, posted Jan. 23, 2025, 2:42 p.m. Eastern, updated Jan. 24, 5:52 a.m.: Fayetteville police said Thursday that Elijah Lee, 19, was arrested and charged with first degree murder; Jan. 13 at 7:55 a.m., 911 call, 700 block of Topeka Street; woman pronounced dead; victim identified as Jylin Matute-Ayala, 22; held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond. Read via the station's public WordPress JSON because the HTML page returned 403 here. Text-only; no CBS 17 or department photos used.)

    Official sourcePublished by Fayetteville Police Department, via CBS 17 · Checked Oct 28, 2026, 5:50 PM

  3. Woman identified as victim of deadly Fayetteville shooting on Topeka Street, police say (CBS 17, Jan. 16, 2025: Fayetteville Police Department identified Jylin Matute Ayala, 22, of Fayetteville; found dead Monday morning after a reported shooting on the 700 block of Topeka Street. Name in that earlier item lacks the hyphen used later. Text-only.)

    Official sourcePublished by Fayetteville Police Department, via CBS 17 · Checked Oct 28, 2026, 5:50 PM

  4. Man charged with murder in connection with Fayetteville woman's death (ABC11 / WTVD, Jan. 25, 2025: Fayetteville police said Elijah Lee, 19, of Fayetteville, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jylin Ayala; Jan. 13, 911 call, 700 block of Topeka Street; found dead in the street; arrested and charged on Thursday; held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond; husband Cristofer Puente-Mendoza said she was loved by many in the community. ABC11 shortens her name to Jylin Ayala. Text-only; no ABC11 photos used.)

    Published by ABC11 (WTVD) · Checked Oct 28, 2026, 5:50 PM

  5. Man charged with murder in Fayetteville shooting (WRAL, posted Jan. 23, 2025, 7:40 p.m.: 19-year-old charged with first-degree murder in a Jan. 13 shooting on Topeka Street; Elijah Lee arrested; held at the Cumberland County Detention Center without bond. Text-only; no WRAL photos used.)

    Published by WRAL · Checked Oct 28, 2026, 5:50 PM

  6. Fayetteville victim of Topeka Street homicide feared she would be killed / Fayetteville teen charged in killing of Jylin Matute-Ayala (The Fayetteville Observer, Joseph Pierre, Jan. 31, 2025: Elijah Jamal Lee, 19, charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jylin Daniela Matute-Ayala, 22; first appearance Friday; Assistant District Attorney Kayley Taber told the judge there was an existing relationship. Affidavit and other prosecutor details from that story are recorded here only so we do not reprint them. The page is paywalled; this file uses the publicly indexed text. Text-only; no Observer photos used.)

    Published by The Fayetteville Observer · Checked Oct 28, 2026, 5:50 PM

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