The empty seat at the Rose family’s Thanksgiving table was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Joseph Rose, just 18 years old, was supposed to be home for the holidays, but he never made it. After weeks of searching and a heartbreaking discovery in a creek, authorities have finally taken a suspect into custody, bringing a grim update to a story that has shaken the local community.
Johnathan David Paleno, a 21-year-old from Cullowhee, now faces first-degree murder charges. Investigators tracked him down in Jackson County last Friday, following a massive multi-agency effort that included the SBI and even federal partners like the DEA and ATF. While police say the two young men knew each other, they haven’t yet shared exactly what went wrong between them or what led to such a violent end.
The timeline is as chilling as the crime itself. Joseph was last heard from on November 24, the very day he was supposed to start his holiday travels. Detectives now believe that was the day he died. For nearly two weeks, his family held out hope, reporting him missing on December 2 when the silence became unbearable. His sister, Emily Ivory Rose, described the agonizing wait for a brother she called “just a baby” and the “heart” of their family.
That hope was shattered on December 12. A passerby spotted Joseph’s body near Gilbert B. Crook Road in Candler, discarded in a creek. It wasn’t the way anyone expected a well-loved young man who “believed in loving one another” to be found. Preliminary autopsy results later confirmed the family’s worst fears: Joseph had been killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.
Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin Miller shared more details in a recent press conference, noting that while Joseph’s body was found in Candler, they believe the actual shooting happened at a different location within the county. The investigation eventually led them to a vehicle and a home in Cullowhee, where they finally caught up with Paleno.
For the Rose family, the arrest brings a small sense of justice, but it doesn’t fill the void left behind. Emily has been vocal about her brother’s kind nature, describing him as a friend to everyone he met. The fact that he was taken so young, and by someone he apparently knew, has made the loss even harder for those close to him to process.
As it stands, Paleno is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility without bond. This case marks the eighth homicide in the county this year, and while every one of those cases has seen an arrest, the tragedy of a life cut short just before Thanksgiving continues to weigh heavily on the residents of Candler and Asheville.
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