Defendant in Asheville murder case pleads guilty, DA says

Ryan Oehrli, Asheville Citizen Times
·1 min read

ASHEVILLE - The defendant in an Asheville homicide from 2020 has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, according to Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams’ office.

Todd Housel, 58, pleaded guilty to the charge on March 20, according to a tweet from Williams’ office.

The Citizen Times previously reported that Asheville police arrested Housel in June 2020 and charged him with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 66-year-old Michael Eugene Hirt.

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When Housel was arrested, then-APD spokesperson Christina Hallingse said police found Hirt with multiple stab wounds at his home, and that he later died at Mission Hospital. The stabbing happened outside the home, she said at the time.

Housel “was sentenced to an active term of 240-300 months in NC prisons and ordered to pay restitution of $1870 for costs associated with burial of the victim,” according to the DA’s office.

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In early March of this year, the Citizen Times reported that the District Attorney’s Office had yet to reach a disposition for dozens of murder defendants — 41 in late January, according to Williams.

Over the last few years, murder cases in the county have reached dispositions relatively quickly, according to data from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts. But the backlog has grown. Williams has attributed it to the stall that COVID-19 put on the legal system, “inaction” from the General Assembly in funding positions for new assistant district attorneys and the inherent complexities of murder cases.

Ryan Oehrli covers public safety, breaking news, courts and other beats for the Citizen-Times. Comments? Questions? Tips? Send them to coehrli@citizentimes.com or 252-944-6816. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Defendant in Asheville murder case pleads guilty, DA says