Fayetteville crime overall dips, but homicide numbers increase by 50 percent

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- The number of people murdered in Fayetteville jumped by 50 percent in 2021.

"I had three kids and now one of them is missing, ones always going to be missing...the holidays are the hardest," mother Tasha McMurray said.

It's been almost five months since McMurray's pregnant 31-year-old daughter Tanajwa was killed.

"I was planning her baby shower and had all her baby stuff in a basket," McMurray recalled.

Investigators said Tanajwa's boyfriend shot and killed her and their unborn child.

The McMurray family is just one of many in Fayetteville stricken with grief due to homicide in the last year.

Fayetteville Police Department reports crime in general is down in the city. However, homicides jumped up 50 percent, with a total of 48 happening in 2021--six of those were related to domestic violence.

Suicides also increased in 2021, seeing a 33 percent jump up to a total of 32 instances.

For McMurray, living without her daughter is an unexplainable pain, but one she knows she does not feel alone. She also doesn't want death to be the end of her story, so she speaks up hoping other broken hearted mothers understand they're not alone.

"You don't really recover from something like this," she said.