Terrance Bright, now 20, was sentenced to 22 to 29 years in prison for killing 20-year-old Durham artist Cailee Azariah Parker during a marijuana deal that turned into a deadly robbery on West Orange Street in Hillsborough. Bright pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and he apologized to Parker's family before the sentence came down.
Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour handed down the sentence after Bright had faced the possibility of life in prison plus 24 years for Parker's murder, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. Parker was shot and killed on Sept. 13, 2023, and died at Duke University Hospital from his wounds, while an 18-year-old Hillsborough woman was also shot during the same attack. Assistant District Attorney Anna Orr said neither Parker nor the woman was armed during the encounter.
The deal that led to Parker's death started small. Per Orr, Bright — then 17 — arranged to buy $330 worth of marijuana from Parker through Instagram, and the two met with Parker and Jackson around 10 p.m. on West Orange Street near downtown Hillsborough, a timeline first laid out by WRAL. The 18-year-old Hillsborough woman shot that night had non-life-threatening injuries, the station reported at the time.
Tracking the Suspects Through a Family Safety App
Investigators said they tracked Parker's phone through the Life360 app to Sports Endeavors in Hillsborough, according to Orr, and found that Parker's phone also contained an open mapping application giving directions to Hinson Drive in Durham. That Hinson Drive address had already been linked to Bright through previous police reports, and police later found an AR-style rifle matching the weapon used in the shooting at the Durham home where Bright was arrested. Investigators also said a Kia Soul connected to the case had been stolen from Mebane, per Orr.
Hillsborough police said several weapons were recovered during the investigation, but Police Chief Duane Hampton said it was not clear which ones or how many were actually used in the crime, as reported by the News & Observer. Co-defendants Jesse Baldwin and Dante Biwagou told investigators that Bright arranged the marijuana deal and shot Parker, according to Orr.
Four Arrests, Four Different Paths Through Court
Coreiaja Woodard, 19, of Durham, was arrested on Oct. 11, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. by Hillsborough police with help from the Durham County Sheriff's Office, according to a Town of Hillsborough announcement at the time. Woodard has since pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. Orr said Woodard's eventual sentence of 13 to 18 years hinges on whether she testifies against the two remaining defendants at trial in March.
Those remaining defendants are Baldwin, 20, who is charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, aiding and abetting first-degree murder, and aiding and abetting assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and Biwagou, who is charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or inflict serious injury. A fourth arrest in the case came on Sept. 28, 2023, involving someone who was 17 at the time of the shooting, the News & Observer reported. After that arrest, Hillsborough police said all of the offenders from the case were in custody, according to Chapelboro.
A Durham Artist Remembered for More Than His Death
Before he was killed, Parker had graduated from Durham School of the Arts in 2021 and planned to enroll at Durham Technical Community College. He worked six days a week, sometimes pulling double shifts, at Chick-fil-A, and he did not call his mother on the night he was killed. Parker was described as a person whose life had value.
Parker painted murals across Durham as part of the Durham Mural Crew summer program, and he was listed among the 48 Black artists who created 44 murals in downtown Durham during June and July 2020, according to a project archive published by artaintinnocent.com. Jackson's mother, Dorica Jackson, said her daughter continues to receive mental and physical therapy and still struggles with relationships, sleep, concentration, and feeling normal after the shooting.
