2023 saw record number of homicides in Wake County; some suspects wait years for trial
Last year was a violent year in Wake County with 56 homicides – a record number.
"We are coming to the end of the third year in a row when we have exceeded more than 50 homicides in Wake County," District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Monday. "This after decades hovering around 30."
A decade ago, there were 24 murders. By 2022, that number jumped to 52.
"We are concerned with the increase we are seeing," Freeman said, adding that it is difficult for the judicial system to keep up and swiftly bring justice to the families who lost a loved one.
"We have cases well over two years old that need to make it through the system," Freeman said.
Currently there are 73 defendants in the Wake County Jail charged with murder. The oldest case dates back to 2016. Brandon Hill, who is charged with first-degree murder, has yet to go to trial. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Four defendants in the jail were charged with murder in 2019, and three were charged with murder in 2020.
"There are a handful of cases that have taken longer than we would like," Freeman said.
Freeman said that backlog mainly has to do with COVID-19, when the courts were not in session.
"As COVID kinda played through, people left the workforce, and that applies to criminal defense attorneys and prosecutors as well," she said.
Staffing is also an issue, Freeman said. Wake County currently has 44 prosecutors, but for a county of its size and growing, Freeman said they could use a dozen more.
Before the pandemic, there were one or two murder trials per month at the Wake County Justice Center. Freeman said they are now averaging about three murder trials per month.
