CHARLOTTE — Nearly a year after Whitney Hurd was stabbed to death, her accused killer is behind bars and facing a first-degree murder charge.
Channel 9 learned that the suspect, Brandon Braxton, had been arrested multiple times for unrelated crimes after Hurd’s death.
It was after one of those arrests that he confessed to killing Hurd, police said in an affidavit obtained by Channel 9 on Friday.
Hurd was found dead in her home on Werburgh Street last July, and police said she had been stabbed multiple times. Hurd’s SUV was stolen and eventually found, but there was no update on the search for a suspect until months later.
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According to an affidavit, police found fingerprints inside the SUV and inside Hurd’s home that matched to Braxton.
Detectives learned from Hurd’s family that she used to be friends with Braxton when they were in high school. The family said he “lost touch” with Hurd for years, but then started showing up at her home. According to the affidavit, Braxton fell asleep intoxicated in Hurd’s driveway one night when she wouldn’t let him in, and family said Hurd had to call the police when Braxton “broke into her home.”
Braxton was arrested for an unrelated charge on July 24, 2024, 10 days after Hurd’s death, according to the affidavit. Detectives interviewed him and asked about his relationship with Hurd. He said they used to hang out in high school, but he claimed he had never been inside her vehicle.
Detectives asked Braxton if he knew where Hurd was at the time, and he nodded his head up and down. He said the last time he saw Hurd, “she looked petrified.” However, he didn’t provide any other details, and no charges were filed against Braxton for Hurd’s death.
Braxton was released from jail on bond for those charges. He was arrested again in October 2024 and in early January 2025 on unrelated charges. Channel 9 reported on his arrest in October.
Then on Jan. 23, 2025, he was taken into custody by the Pineville Police Department for second-degree trespassing and resisting an officer. He was held in custody without a bond, according to jail records.
The break in the case came on March 3. According to the affidavit, Braxton submitted a grievance to a jail administrative sergeant, but the grievance stated, “I killed Whitney Hurd.”
Detectives reviewed video surveillance from the jail on Tuesday, and it showed Braxton using the jail kiosk at the same date and time when the grievance was filed. That’s when detectives filed for charges against Braxton for first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
‘Relief’ after the arrest
Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz spoke with one of Whitney’s best friends on Friday. Morgan Hartis met Whtiney at Providence High School, and they went on to be roommates at the University of South Carolina; they also lived together in their first apartment after graduation.
“I’m feeling relief that there’s finally been an arrest,” Hartis told Sáenz. “She was a joy to be around, her laugh was always something. She could put anybody at ease.”
Hartis said even though an arrest was made, she questioned why Braxton was free for the better part of the last year after police accused him of “random acts of violence.”
“He shouldn’t have been out on the streets capable of even taking her life. He is a danger to society, and the system did fail her,” Hartis said.
Now with Braxton behind bars, Whitney’s loved ones say they just want to keep her legacy alive.
“Just to live life and enjoy it and just not take anything for granted,” Hartis said.
Whitney’s mother told Sáenz over the phone that she’s grateful this day has finally come.
(VIDEO: ‘Living a nightmare’: Father devastated after 17-year-old charged in son’s murder)
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