Source: Photo courtesy of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Facebook / Sheremy Gwenette Dillard
Community members in North Carolina are mourning the death of Sheremy Gwenette Dillard, a beloved high school basketball coach and teacher who was found dead inside her Raleigh home on Aug. 13. She was 57. Dillard, who lived on Whistling Straits Way with her boyfriend, was discovered after relatives contacted police because they had not heard from her, according to the Raleigh Police Department, as reported byCBS 17 and People.
What happened to Coach Sheremy Gwenette Dillard?
Authorities believe Dillard died from stab wounds. Her boyfriend, 60-year-old Rickey Harper, was later arrested in Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania, in connection with her death. Harper was taken into custody on Aug. 14, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and charged with first-degree murder, Raleigh police said.
According to People, investigators credited Flock cameras with helping them track Harper’s movements during a two-and-a-half-hour search. The footage allegedly helped authorities determine that he had fled the area following Dillard’s death.
Dillard was a recovery teacher and the inaugural head coach of the girls’ basketball team at Felton Grove High School in Apex, North Carolina, which opened in August 2025, according to CBS 17. As a recovery teacher, she helped students make up coursework, develop needed skills and recover academic credits.
Before joining Felton Grove, Dillard served as the inaugural head coach of the girls’ basketball team at Carrboro High School in Carrboro, North Carolina. In 2023, she was named the Northern Lakes Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools District mourned the death of Coach Sheremy Gwenette Dillard.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools remembered Dillard for the impact she had on students, athletes and colleagues.
“With great sadness, we are grieving the loss of Sheremy Dillard, the longtime women’s basketball coach and former teacher at Carrboro High School. While Coach Dillard was most recently in the Wake County school system, she left a profound legacy of class, grace, wisdom and dedicated service at Carrboro,” the school district wrote in a statement shared Aug. 16 via Facebook. “She loved and appreciated her Jaguar players, coaches and colleagues, and never hesitated to have the hard conversations about equity and doing what was best for our students.”
The district also shared a message from one of Dillard’s family members, who said, “Her basketball players meant the world to her every year. Every group, as she watched them grow and develop. Carrboro High was her family too.”
The school district said many current Jaguar staff members and students had strong and lasting relationships with Dillard.
“Many of our current Jaguar staff and students had strong, lasting relationships with Coach Dillard. As we learn more and process the tragic circumstances surrounding her passing, we will rely on each other for the needed support at this sad time. Staff and families received additional details about support services and resources that will be available at school.”
The district added that it would share information about memorial arrangements and services when appropriate.
“Our school community will share information about memorial arrangements, services or celebrations of life at the next appropriate time. Until then, please keep Coach Dillard’s family, loved ones, friends, colleagues and students close to your heart.”
