Latoya Crabbe, the Manasas woman accused of shooting and killing her estranged husband, Curtis Crabbed, was released from jail on Friday, February 21, 2025. At the county jail, she had an emotional reunion with her mother, Marilyn Martin, who patiently waited for officials to release her from the lockup she’d been in since being charged on October 21, 2024.
A short time later, at home, Crabbe waited anxiously for her three children, whom she had not seen in four months, to come home from school. “I’m relieved to be back home, but I’m still anxious about the pending trial,” she said. “The most important thing for me is to hug and kiss my babies right now.”
When the children arrived home, they were stunned to see their mother. Their shock quickly turned into excitement as they ran to embrace her. “Mommy! Mommy! I missed you!” one exclaimed. Each child clamored for her attention, eager to share details of their school day.
After the tear-filled reunion, Crabbe immediately resumed their after-school routine. First, though, she fulfilled a promise she had made over the phone to her four-year-old daughter—painting her nails as they sat together for the first time in months.
Crabbe knows that this reunion may be short-lived. Although the prosecution agreed to let Crabbe out on bond, once the trial secures a new indictment, she may be sent back to jail as her speedy trial clock resets with the new charge. “I’m just going to enjoy the time with my babies right now,” Crabbe said as she pushed the thought of going back to jail and the anxiety of the pending trial to the back of her mind.
Earlier that day, Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Carroll A. Weimer Jr. heard arguments in the murder case. The defense requested that the charges be dismissed and bond Crabbe. Her attorneys argue she acted in self-defense when she shot and killed her husband in her mother’s Manassas home, where she was living with her children, stating that Curtis had cornered her in a small bedroom while holding an Italian stiletto knife. They also presented text messages in which Curtis had previously threatened to harm the family.
In the courtroom, about 30 family and friends of both Crabbe and Curtis filled the courtroom. The numbers were equally split between both sides; Curtis’ family wore buttons with his photo on them, and Crabbe supporters wore matching purple t-shirts emblazoned with her name and image with the words “End Domestic Violence.”
“If there was ever a clearer case to demonstrate bad faith, it’s this one, your honor. [The prosecution says] they acted in a timely manner; but that’s the problem, they haven’t acted at all. They haven’t moved to continue, they haven’t moved to [dismiss]. They’ve done nothing. They just sat on it while my client continues to sit in jail,” said Defense Blake Weiner.
Prosecutor D. Burke Walker announced plans to pursue a first-degree murder charge, citing new evidence that Crabbe had allegedly logged into her Ring camera account after the shooting, deleted videos, and then removed the app from her phone.
Daughtery reinforced the defense’s position, stating, “I’ve been here 17 years, and I’ve seen a lot of different ways the prosecution does shady things. But this time I can prove their bad faith. I dare either one of them to look you in the eye and tell you that they didn’t tell me, even at the time of the indictment, that they had no intention to move forward with the case. Because they can’t.”
Walker did not admit that prosecutors had no intention of moving forward before the indictment. Instead, he said, “We have a different recollection [of the conversation].”
Judge Weimer expressed concern over the prosecution’s handling of the case. “I’m troubled by the fact that you told the defense you weren’t going to move forward but didn’t [dismiss the case] immediately,” he said.
Addressing Walker, the judge continued, “How do you, in good faith, keep a defendant in jail if you know you are not going to move forward with the case? You don’t have to keep someone in jail [between charges]; police arrest people for felonies all the time.” He told prosecutors before admonishing them, “This certainly doesn’t look good.”
Judge Weimer denied the motion to dismiss but granted Crabbe a personal recognizance bond, allowing her to be released that day. She is scheduled for trial on March 3, where prosecutors intend to drop the second-degree murder charge and refile with a first-degree charge.
Crabbe’s next court date is March 3, 2025.
