Man involved in the murder of Michael Jordan’s father is granted parole, will be released in 2023

RALEIGH, N.C. — Larry Martin Demery, who pleaded guilty to assisting in the murder of Michael Jordan's father, James Jordan, will be released on parole in three years, the state Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission announced Tuesday.

Demery, 45, is serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 killing of James Jordan on a rural highway in Robeson County, North Carolina. Demery is scheduled to be released Aug. 6, 2023.

Co-defendant Daniel Andre Green, 45, remains in prison and has not been granted parole.

Demery pleaded guilty in 1995 to murder and robbery charges and agreed to testify against Green. He said Green shot Jordan when they found him sleeping in his car on July 23, 1993.

Green was convicted at a trial in 1996 in Lumberton, North Carolina. Green has denied killing Jordan but said he helped Demery dispose of Jordan’s body. The body was found in a swamp in South Carolina in August 1993.

Jordan was driving home at night from Wilmington to Charlotte when he evidently pulled over to rest and fell asleep, according to prior accounts of the murder. The case against Demery and Green said they found the car, broke in and shot and killed Jordan. It said they stole the car and other property and disposed of his body in South Carolina.

In recent years, Green has unsuccessfully attempted to get a new trial. In court hearings and papers, his lawyer said he had nothing to do with the killing, but he admitted taking some of Jordan’s property and helping Demery get rid of the body.

Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@fayobserver.com and 910-261-4710.