Mother murdered at Durham hotel leaves behind 5 kids, had restraining order out against killer

Family members and supporters of Nicole Bullock are grieving her death this week, as the 29-year-old leaves behind five children after a series of hardships through assault and abuse.

Both Bullock's sister and attorney wanted to talk to WRAL News to highlight how serious domestic violence is, and how high the stakes are. Bullock was murdered Sunday at a Durham hotel room. Rodney Crawford, who court documents show had a history of abusing Bullock, was charged with homicide.

One of Bullock's sisters Lakisha Polite said the system failed Nicole and failed her kids. Crawford got probation and no prison time from when he was found guilty of assaulting Bullock, while her child was with her, in May 2021. At the time of the murder, Bullock had an active restraining order against Crawford.

The attorney talked about how he'd like to see judges exercise more of their authority to set conditions on Domestic Violence Protective Orders that make it easier for victims to gain independence and safety.

Polite believes that if Crawford had gotten prison time, Nicole would still be alive today.

"I feel like the system failed her," Polite said. "She wasn't protected at all."

Nicole was a single mother of five boys, ages 2 to 13. Now, the sister and other family members are going to step in to raise the children.

A GoFundMe was created to help with funeral expenses and to help Bullock's five sons. The GoFundMe page said Nicole’s sister Tyquanna Bullock is taking guardianship of all five boys.

Polite described Nicole as hard-working, outgoing and a great mom. Nicole had a keen sense of humor and devoted her life to her kids.

Polite said she met Rodney, but really didn't know much about him.

"I just know he's a monster that took my sister away from me," she said.

The sister talked about the cycle of violence. Their mom was murdered when Nicole was 2 years old. Now, history is repeating itself.

"Her words were ''I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what he's going to do to me,'" Polite said of Nicole.

Now, Polite is focused on getting justice for Bullock and her children.

Corey Frost, an attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina, worked with Bullock on her protective order.

Frost believes that many communities need more comprehensive measures and resources to empower victims to leave abusive relationships.

"Like many victims of domestic violence, I think that Nicole encountered some barriers along the way to getting the help that she needed to get her restraining order and to escape this abusive relationship," Frost said.

"My hope is that her death is a reminder or wake up call to folks in the community about how difficult it is for victims of domestic violence to leave abusive relationships," Frost said. "The kinds of barriers that often stand in their way, and how high the stakes are. what can happen if we don't try to make it a little easier for people to escape."

The family is working on plans for Bullock's funeral.