The family of murdered sisters “Dot” Hobbs and Nellie Bradley say they are relieved that an arrest has been made in the case.

Hobbs and Bradley’s youngest sister, Linda Tuck, and about 20 family members, met with Hertford County Sheriff Juan Vaughan Thursday before a press conference announcing the arrest of William Curtis Futrelle, 34, of Franklin.

Futrelle was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, Vaughan said, and is being held at the Hertford County Jail.

“We feel like a weight has been lifted off us,” said Tuck, a Franklin resident. “We have lived for this moment for the last two years.

Hobbs, 74, and Bradley, 71, were found slain near a dirt road in Hertford County, N.C., north of Murfreesboro on Aug. 4, 2006. Hobbs had lacerations to her neck and face while Bradley suffered wounds to her chest.

Both women were partially clothed when they were discovered.

According to Vaughan, the vehicle in which the two were traveling — a black 1996 Ford Crown Victoria — was found at about 11:30 p.m. the night of the murders behind an abandoned house near Boykins. Investigators found DNA evidence inside the car.

Tuck said the sheriff, who has kept in touch with her every month since the slayings, called to tell her a suspect had been named and that he wanted to meet with the family before information came out in the media.

Tuck notified family members and they came right away, she said.

“I’m very glad he’s been found,” Dot’s son, Mike, said about the suspect.

“Right now it’s like a relief — an end to something that was not pleasant at all.”

Boykins Mayor Spier Edwards said the news about the arrest was “great.”

“It’s some of the best news I have heard all year,” he said.

Tuck said she plans to attend any court hearings in the case.

“We will do anything for those ladies,” she said.