Ex-Duke football murder suspect keeps returning home after arrests thanks to soft-on-crime judges: police rep

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A former Duke University football player who allegedly confessed to killing his former high school friend and Charlotte, North Carolina, real estate agent Whitney Hurd, was arrested and released four separate times between Hurd’s death in July 2024 and his arrest for murder in March.

Police found Hurd, 32, dead with multiple stab wounds in her townhome in Charlotte’s upscale South Park neighborhood on July 14 of last year while responding to a call for medical assistance that afternoon. Her manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Court records show that Brandon Braxton, 33, was arrested and released on unrelated charges four times for charges including injury to real property, simple assault, larceny, trespassing, resisting a public officer, indecent exposure and assault on a female before he was eventually charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon on March 20. 

Just months after Hurd’s death, Braxton allegedly exposed himself to a victim in a public Charlotte park and attempted to grab a woman’s shorts, according to court records. He spent 31 minutes in jail for the incident exposure charge, records show.

FORMER DUKE FOOTBALL PLAYER CONFESSES TO KILLING REAL ESTATE AGENT EX-FRIEND IN HER UPSCALE TOWNHOME: POLICE

Former Duke football player Brandon Braxton allegedly confessed to killing Hurd. (Mecklenburg County Jail)

“This is nothing new, and it isn’t surprising in this case,” Charlotte Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) President Daniel Redford told Fox News Digital. 

“It highlights the frustrations that we have all spoken about.”

— Daniel Redford, Charlotte FOP president

Redford noted, however, that authorities may not have had enough information to charge Braxton with murder in the Hurd case to keep him in jail on his multiple other charges after she was found dead. 

Brandon Braxton was arrested and released four times after Whitney Hurd’s murder. (Mecklenburg County)

But on March 3 of this year, Braxton allegedly submitted a written grievance to Mecklenburg County jail officials, stating: “I killed Whitney Hurd,” the affidavit states.

Hurd’s neighbor apparently saw a man driving her white BMW away from her home on the afternoon of July 4, 2024, and there was nobody in the passenger seat. The neighbor advised police that Hurd never let anyone else drive her vehicle, according to an affidavit.

An indictment filed on March 31 alleges that Braxton stole Hurd’s BMW and cellphone “by means of assault” against Hurd with a knife.

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Whitney Hurd, 32, was found murdered in her Charlotte townhome on July 14, 2024. (Instagram)

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) obtained a search warrant for Hurd’s phone and received her last known location data, which led detectives to her vehicle, which was collected and processed as evidence. Detectives were unable to locate her phone, but the case was still inside the vehicle.

Fingerprints from Hurd’s vehicle were collected and processed, placing Braxton inside her vehicle and residence.

“I call it an open-door policy. Some people call it a revolving door. … You commit a crime, you get arrested, you’re back out.”

— Daniel Redford, Charlotte FOP president

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Redford called Braxton’s four arrests and releases after Hurd’s murder “very concerning,” saying his record indicates a “progression of increasing what crimes he was committing.” He noted that certain Mecklenburg County judges take a more progressive approach to criminal justice, releasing certain violent criminal suspects on low bond or without bond.

Duke Blue Devils wide receiver Brandon Braxton (5) looks for running room against Stanford Cardinal safety Michael Thomas (3) during the first half at Wallace Wade Stadium.   (Mark Dolejs-US PRESSWIRE)

In June 2024, for example, a Rock Hill murder and rape suspect named Raphael Wright was released on $50,000 bond, leading police and the victim’s family to voice their concerns. A judge ultimately raised his bond to $850,000 a month later, and Wright was again detained.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden told Fox News Digital that his office “lacks the authority to release individuals without a judge’s order.”

“Consequently, we have no involvement in determining how, when or why someone’s release nor the amount of their bonds, or the conditions of their release,” McFadden said in an emailed statement. “The Sheriff’s Office is solely responsible for the custody and care of individuals. The factors and reasons for their release are solely determined by the appropriate authorities which is the magistrate or a judge.”

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Duke Blue Devils running back Josh Snead (9) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Brandon Braxton (5) during the first quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.  (Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports)

The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

Braxton’s attorney said he will not be commenting publicly on the matter at this time.

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The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the case is still an active and ongoing investigation, and the department is unable to provide further comment at this time.

Mecklenburg County’s current bail policy, in general, is to allow suspects accused of minor crimes to be released from custody.

McFadden directed Fox News Digital to a recent study from MDRC’s Center for Criminal Justice Research showing the county’s bail policies led to increased release rates but no significant increase in defendants’ failures to appear in court or in new criminal charges filed against the same defendants. 

Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.