A 35-year-old Franklinton man is charged with first-degree murder after authorities say he killed a woman described by the local sheriff as a mother, caregiver, teacher and cherished friend throughout the community. Devon Whaley was booked into custody Monday in connection with the death of Rasheka Crudup, who was killed at her home on Lane Store Road, according to arrest warrants.
Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White said Whaley had previously faced charges involving drugs, kidnapping, assault and attempted murder, a record that stretches back a decade, as reported by WRAL. In a written statement, White said Whaley killed “a beloved young woman, a mother of two beautiful children, a caregiver, a teacher, and a deeply cherished friend to many in our community,” according to the station's report. Crudup had two children, per White.
White did not mince words about the apology an offense like this demands. “I'm sorry,” simply isn't good enough,” he said, according to the same account.
A Decade-Old Pattern of Violence
Whaley's history with violence against women dates to 2016, when he was taken into custody after being accused of shooting a woman and taking his then one-year-old daughter, per the station's report. That earlier case unfolded in Louisburg, where Whaley made a court appearance that August and asked a judge to appoint him a new attorney, claiming he was in a “criminal fight for his life.” The Franklin Times reported that Superior Court Judge G. Wayne Abernathy denied the request and advised Whaley not to judge his attorney's fervor prematurely.
Whaley pleaded guilty in August 2017 to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, court records show. The Franklin Times reported that Whaley was sentenced to serve between 96 and 128 months in prison and received credit for 451 days already served. Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-32, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury is a Class C felony that can carry a sentence of up to 231 months depending on a defendant's prior record, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.
Released in 2024, Facing New Charges Before the Killing
Whaley was released from prison in 2024. By January of this year, he had picked up pending charges for domestic violence and assault on a female, according to the station's report. Those charges remained unresolved at the time Crudup was killed this month.
He now faces a first-degree murder charge in Crudup's death. Under North Carolina General Statutes § 14-17, first-degree murder is a Class A felony — the state's most serious criminal charge — punishable only by life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. A first-degree murder conviction requires prosecutors to prove premeditation and deliberation, or that the killing occurred during the commission of another serious felony.
A Statewide Problem With Deep Local Roots
Crudup's death adds to a grim statewide tally. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's 2025 Domestic Violence Related Homicide Report documented 102 female victims and 59 male victims killed in domestic violence-related homicides across the state that year. A July 2026 report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, compiled through the state's Violent Death Reporting System, found that 71.6% of female intimate partner homicide victims in North Carolina in 2024 were killed by a current spouse or partner, while 8.4% were killed by a former partner.
State officials have moved to address repeat violence in the months before Crudup's killing. In May, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson launched the Statewide Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams Collective, an effort uniting local county fatality review teams to share findings and shape policy recommendations aimed at preventing domestic violence deaths, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice. Five counties currently operate authorized local fatality review teams under that framework.
Franklinton, a Fast-Growing Town Shaken
Franklinton, where Crudup lived, is a small town roughly 25 miles northeast of Raleigh with an estimated 2,977 residents, according to World Population Review, which noted the town has grown more than 20% since the 2020 census. It ranks as Franklin County's second-largest municipality behind the county seat of Louisburg, which has about 3,400 residents, per USAFacts and U.S. Census Bureau data showing the county's total population above 70,000.
Sheriff White was elected to the office in 2022 after previously serving as the sheriff's office SWAT commander and being named the county's Investigator of the Year, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. He has also credited with establishing the county's first integrated active shooter training event. His pointed statement about Whaley's record reflects a broader frustration shared by advocates and officials across North Carolina as the state grapples with how to intervene before domestic violence turns fatal.
