Former Asheville teen fugitive pleads guilty to death by vehicle; murder case pending
ASHEVILLE — A former fugitive and murder suspect pleaded guilty to misdemeanor death by vehicle in Buncombe County District Court Nov. 15, for an accident that killed an 87-year-old Canton woman just four months before the shooting death of an Asheville teen.
Dionate Whitson, 21, was given an active sentence of 60 days after pleading guilty to misdemeanor death by vehicle before Chief District Court Judge J. Calvin Hill, according to court records obtained by the Citizen Times.
On July 9, 2020, Whitson was recklessly driving a 2019 Nissan on Meadow Road around 9 a.m. without a driver's license, according to court records. While driving 62 mph in a 35-mph zone, Whitson crossed the centerline, struck a 2007 Toyota Rav4 head-on, and “unintentionally caused the death of (Lila) Jo Murray,” according to court documents obtained by the Citizen Times.
A few days later, on July 16, the Asheville Police Department charged Whitson with reckless driving to endanger, misdemeanor death by vehicle, driving without an operator’s license, along with various other vehicle-related charges.
Murray’s daughter, Laura Murray, previously told the Citizen Times that her father, Leroy Murray, was driving her 87-year-old mother to an eye appointment when Whitson hit them head-on at a high rate of speed. Laura said both cars were totaled “terribly,” and her mother died from her injuries at Mission Hospital.
Previous reporting: 'What is justice?' Murder suspect extradited to Asheville, facing charges for 2 deaths.
The daughter described Murray as a “lovely, Christian woman, who even in the back of an ambulance asked the paramedics on the condition of the other driver” while her husband was holding her hand all the way to Mission.
“Because that was her. She was always praying for somebody else,” Murray said. “If she was on the other side of this and she knew it was just an 18-year-old boy who did this, and then if she knew all the other stuff with it, she would still forgive him.”
Lila Jo and Leroy Murray, husband and wife of 66 years, were lifelong residents of Canton and only lived outside the city while Leroy was in the Air Force for six years, which included a tour in the Korean War. Lila Jo had a love for children and was a substitute teacher in Haywood County for 40 years, her daughter said. Leroy suffered broken bones from the accident but is still alive today at 90 years old.
The Citizen Times spoke with Murray, who declined to comment on the sentencing while she's "still processing everything."
An additional order for arrest was placed on Whitson on May 15, 2021, when he failed to appear in court on these charges the day before, according to court documents. This was during the time when Whitson was still evading arrest as a murder suspect, which caught national attention in an “Investigation Discovery” program.
Whitson was arrested nearly three years later during a traffic stop in Kinston on Aug. 10, according to a news release from the Kinston Police Department. After his arrest, Whitson was extradited to Asheville, where he remains in the Buncombe County Detention Facility under no bond.
Whitson's arrest: Fugitive suspect in Asheville teen’s 2020 shooting death arrested in Kinston
Whitson still awaits court appearances on a first-degree murder charge for allegedly shooting Asheville teen Teylyn McAlpin in 2020, who Whitson had been friends with since they were young, according to McAlpin’s family.
On the morning of Nov. 28, 2020, APD officers found McAlpin, who was 17 years old, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds near the Montford baseball field and provided aid until paramedics arrived, a police spokesperson said at the time. McAlpin died at Mission Hospital due to his gunshot wounds.
Vigil honoring McAlpin: Family, friends remember Asheville teen murder victim on birthday; condemn gun violence
McAlpin’s grandmother, Vanessa Bognay, previously recounted what she knows of McAlpin’s last day to the Citizen Times, saying she was supposed to pick him up that morning at “his favorite spot” by Hillcrest, but plans changed.
“So, I left, and as I got to the top of Montford, I saw the police flying down this way (toward Montford Park),” Bognay said. “I called his mom and told her something was going on in Montford off Clingman Avenue, but I didn’t know it was him that got shot.”
Whitson’s next court appearance in the murder case is scheduled for Jan. 29, according to an online court database.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville ex-fugitive pleads guilty to misdemeanor murder case pending
