WAKE FOREST, N.C. – A Raleigh man who serves in the U.S. National Guard has been arrested for attempting to hire someone to murder the man responsible for the death of his mother, according to the Wake Forest Police Department.
The son of Michelle Barlow, an English teacher at Wake Forest High School, Rhett Michael Barlow was taken into custody at Fort Liberty, where he was undergoing training as a member of the National Guard.
Authorities revealed that in 2016, Michelle Barlow died in a car crash on Capital Boulevard near Burlington Mills Road when a dump truck driven by Donald Caulder Jr. failed to slow down and collided with the back of her minivan. Caulder was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, to which he pleaded guilty 10 months later and received a suspended sentence and 12 months probation.
Six years later, Rhett Barlow allegedly attempted to hire a hitman to murder Caulder. The Army transferred him to the custody of the Wake Forest Police Department, and on Jan. 8, 2024, he appeared in court where the judge ordered him to remain held on a $1 million bond and undergo a mental health evaluation. Prosecutors also revealed that Barlow had purchased an AR-15 the same day he tried to hire the hitman and had requested an Army transfer to a post closer to Caulder.
Barlow’s actions have raised serious concerns and legal implications. The case will proceed through the legal system, and the Wake Forest Police Department continues to investigate the matter.