A North Carolina man has been charged with kidnapping and murdering a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier who was attacked while delivering mail, authorities said, leaving behind two young daughters who had already lost their father in a crash just months earlier, NBC News reported on Wednesday.

Brandi Reynolds, 35, was found dead Friday after authorities responded to a call for assistance in Hays, North Carolina, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

"I can confirm that Brandi Reynolds was delivering mail on her route when the incident occurred," U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said in a statement.

Prosecutors charged William Craig Durham, 56, of Roaring River, with first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping, according to Wilkes County court records.

A kidnapping warrant alleges Durham unlawfully restrained Reynolds and moved her "from one place to another without the consent of the victim" for the purpose of terrorizing her and inflicting serious bodily injury, NBC News reported.

Authorities have not disclosed how Reynolds was killed, whether a weapon was used, or what they believe motivated the attack.

Durham was arrested the day Reynolds was killed and remained in the Wilkes County Jail as of Tuesday. A district judge on Monday ordered him held without bond, citing what the court described as his "significant criminal record."

State prison records show Durham previously served time on convictions that include second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The investigation is being conducted jointly by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Wilkes County Sheriff's Office, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

Reynolds' death has drawn additional sympathy because of the tragedy that had already struck her family.

According to her obituary, Reynolds was the mother of two daughters. Their father, Brent Reynolds, died December 23, 2025, when the pickup truck he was driving left a roadway in Ronda, North Carolina, and struck a tree, according to NBC affiliate WXII 12.

His obituary described the girls as "the light of his life," while Reynolds' obituary said her daughters "were her whole world."

In addition to her daughters, Reynolds is survived by her mother, two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.

"The U.S. Postal Service is deeply saddened about the death of our colleague, Brandi Byrd Reynolds," Postal Service spokeswoman Martha Johnson said. "We extend our heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and co-workers at the Hays Post Office."