On January 7, 2023, in High Point, North Carolina, 18-year-old Kasin Crayton was tragically killed in a murder-suicide orchestrated by his father, 45-year-old Robert J. Crayton Jr. The incident also claimed the lives of Kasin's mother, 46-year-old Athalia A. Crayton, and his siblings, 16-year-old Nyla and 10-year-old Nasir. Robert Crayton Jr. fatally shot his family members before turning the gun on himself.
The High Point Police Department had a history of interactions with the Crayton family residence, responding to five calls since 2014. The most recent prior to the tragedy occurred on January 3, 2022, when officers served an involuntary mental commitment order to Robert Crayton Jr., indicating his struggles with mental health issues. Despite these interventions, no arrests were made during previous visits, and the situation escalated to the devastating events of January 7, 2023.
On the morning of the incident, two individuals, aged 22 and 25, managed to escape the home and sought help from neighbors. One of the survivors, a family member, reported waking up to find a gun pointed at his head and was able to disarm his father by removing the magazine from the firearm before fleeing. Unfortunately, by the time authorities arrived, they discovered the lifeless bodies of Kasin, his mother, and his siblings, along with that of his father, who had succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The community was left in shock, with local law enforcement expressing the profound impact of the incident. High Point Police Chief Travis Stroud remarked on the unprecedented nature of the tragedy in his nearly three decades of service. The investigation concluded that Robert Crayton Jr.'s actions were influenced by his mental health struggles, though the exact motive behind the murder-suicide remains undetermined.
