Murder Charge Refiled Against Man Erroneously Released From Loudoun Jail

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A grand jury indicted Stone Colburn for second degree murder in Loudoun Circuit Court on Tuesday in connection with the July 2021 stabbing death of Natalie Crow, according to court records.

Colburn was originally charged with second degree murder in Loudoun General District Court, but the charge was dropped on Oct. 6. Colburn is also charged with stabbing in commission of a felony and concealing a dead body.

Colburn was mistakenly released from the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center on Oct. 6, even though prosecutors had already filed a new criminal charge for concealing a dead body when his initial murder charge was drop. He was arrested in Georgia on Oct. 7.

Read more: Prosecutor Blasts Loudoun Sheriff For Release Of Former Murder Suspect

The Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney said they filed the additional charge to prevent Colburn from being released. Prosecutors wanted another evaluation to determine if he was mentally competent to stand trial.

"Based on the severity of the crime and the concerns for the current and future safety of the community, we consulted with other mental health evaluators and concluded we needed a second evaluation. That request was denied by the General District Court,” Commonwealth's Attorney Buta Biberaj said in a statement earlier this month. “We could not in good conscience allow Colburn to avoid a trial as we were not convinced that he cannot be restored to competency.”

A grand jury of the Loudoun Circuit Court indicted Colburn on Tuesday.

Originally, Biberaj blamed the sheriff's office for Colburn's release. She claimed that the sheriff's office issued a release about Colburn "that mischaracterizes the release of Colburn and their lack of accountability. It attempts to mislead the public and unfairly shift the blame to our office.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, Biberaj offered a different, more cooperative tone.

"I and my team are very privileged to work with our Sheriff's Office every day, and our job as a team is to provide our community with safety and justice. The members of the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office are tireless public servants," Biberaj told reporters. "They’re servants that protect our community and we all sleep better at night because they are protecting us. Once the error was discovered, the Sheriff's Office was immediately responsive and diligent towards rearrested Colburn."

Biberaj also offered to meet with Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman, members of the Board of County Supervisors, and any other local stakeholders with questions or concerns.

"I do not think at any level that this was an intentional release of Colburn," Biberaj noted. "I believe it was inadvertent, but what it does is expose that there are some processes we need to revisit. And the best way to do that is, we revisit them together.”