A former Duke University football player who allegedly confessed to killing his former high school friend and Charlotte, North Carolina, real estate agent Whitney Hurd, was arrested and released four separate times between Hurd’s death in July 2024 and his arrest for murder in March.

Police found Hurd, 32, dead with multiple stab wounds in her townhome in Charlotte’s upscale South Park neighborhood on July 14 of last year while responding to a call for medical assistance that afternoon. Her manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Court records show that Brandon Braxton, 33, was arrested and released on unrelated charges four times for charges including injury to real property, simple assault, larceny, trespassing, resisting a public officer, indecent exposure and assault on a female before he was eventually charged with murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon on March 20. 

Just months after Hurd’s death, Braxton allegedly exposed himself to a victim in a public Charlotte park and attempted to grab a woman’s shorts, according to court records. He spent 31 minutes in jail for the incident exposure charge, records show.

Duke Blue Devils running back Josh Snead (9) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver Brandon Braxton (5) during the first quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies in the 2013 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.  (Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports)

The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.

Braxton’s attorney said he will not be commenting publicly on the matter at this time.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said the case is still an active and ongoing investigation, and the department is unable to provide further comment at this time.

Mecklenburg County’s current bail policy, in general, is to allow suspects accused of minor crimes to be released from custody.

McFadden directed Fox News Digital to a recent study from MDRC’s Center for Criminal Justice Research showing the county’s bail policies led to increased release rates but no significant increase in defendants’ failures to appear in court or in new criminal charges filed against the same defendants.