Girl, 17, ‘executed’ in order to shut her up from testifying against man who attempted to rape her

September 8, 2024 Gloria Shaw

A man from Virginia has been sentenced to decades in prison for his role in the chilling 2020 kidnapping and murder of 17-year-old Asia Cowell.

Cowell was lured to a home under the guise of “styling hair” and never imagined that the day would end in tragedy. Instead of a routine appointment, she found herself taken to the woods and shot, her life brutally ended to keep her from testifying against a man who attempted to rape her.

44-year-old Devin Albritton was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with 11 years suspended, for his involvement in the murder. Devin, one of three defendants in the case, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Devin’s wife, Crystal Ashley Rudy Albritton, 34, had been sentenced to life in prison just a month earlier after also pleading guilty to the same charge. Dazha Feaster, the sister of the man Cowell was supposed to testify against, awaits her plea hearing, scheduled for October 30.

Judge Christopher Papile, who presided over the case, made no attempt to soften his words about the crime, describing it as “senseless” and “depraved.” “This was more than just murder—it was an execution,” he said.

The day Cowell’s life was taken began innocently enough. She had been dropped off at a Norfolk apartment on September 7, 2020 to do what she loved—style hair. But unbeknownst to her, Crystal had set up the appointment with an entirely different plan in mind.

Cowell was subdued, forced into a vehicle, and driven to a remote area in Newport News. Once there, Crystal ordered Feaster to shoot the teen, but when Feaster hesitated, Crystal took matters into her own hands and pulled the trigger herself. Cowell begged for her life, promising not to testify, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

What followed the murder was callousness beyond imagination. After helping dispose of Cowell’s body, Devin got rid of the murder weapon and her cellphone—before going on to prepare for a cookout as if nothing had happened

Cowell’s body was discovered two weeks later, hidden in the woods, ending the search for a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. Prosecutors were forced to drop the sexual assault case, as the one person who could testify against the accused was no longer alive.

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As the court handed down the sentence, Devin apologized, stating, “It shouldn’t have happened.” But for Cowell’s family, those words hold little comfort in the wake of such a senseless loss. “We can never get Asia back again,” her stepmother, Tuwanna Simmons, said, expressing the depth of their loss.