Prosecutors Drop Case Against PWC Woman Accused Of Killing Husband, Citing New Video

MANASSAS, VA – Prince William County prosecutors announced today that they would not pursue charges against a Manassas woman indicted for murder in her husband's death.

Latoya Crabbe, 36, of Manassas, was charged with shooting and killing her husband, 36-year-old Curtis Crabbe, in their home in October 2024. She was first charged with second-degree murder and a firearms offense and indicted in January 2025, but that charge and her trial was canceled at the request of prosecutors so they could seek a first-degree murder indictment, which they got in March of that year.

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Crabbe argued that she shot in self-defense.

Crabbe, a pharmacist and mother of three, according to the Prince William Times, was accused by prosecutors of deleting Ring camera footage of the crime, of reloading her weapon during the crime and of shooting her husband as he cowered and hid, according to WTOP and others.

Crabbe's defenders say her estranged husband had a history of violence and shared what they said were threatening text messages from Curtis Crabbe to his wife saying he would hurt her and the children and set fire to the house, among other threats reported by WUSA9.

Ultimately, it was recovered video evidence that led prosecutors to drop the case, Amy Ashworth, commonwealth's attorney for Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, said in a statement.

"In preparation for trial, prosecutors and investigators from the Manassas City Police Department successfully accessed a previously unexamined audio recording recovered from a digital device seized during the investigation," the statement reads. "This five-hour recording captured the extensive conversations and events immediately leading up to the shooting incident. Following an exhaustive review of the audio and its transcript, the Commonwealth has concluded that the recording introduces significant evidence that a reasonable jury could interpret as supporting a claim of lawful self-defense."

Because the evidence creates a reasonable doubt regarding criminal intent, her office could not ethically proceed, she said.

"A prosecutor's highest ethical duty is to seek justice, which requires a continuous and objective evaluation of all evidence throughout the life of a case. Our office is legally and ethically bound to proceed only with prosecutions where the available evidence can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Ashworth expressed appreciation for the Manassas City Police Department and federal digital forensics partners for their work on what she called a "complex investigation."

Crabbe had been released on bond after her first-degree murder indictment.