Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A Virginia woman arrested in connection with the reported August 2023 murder of a 10-year-old boy in Franklin will be receiving a mental exam to evaluate her mental condition at the time of the alleged offense.

The woman, Tashawnda Nicole Drayton, has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges in connection with the August 2023 incident.

Southampton Circuit Court Clerk Richard L. “Rick” Francis confirmed that the defense for Drayton made the motion for a mental exam during a Thursday, March 13, court appearance.

The Virginia Circuit Court Case Information system states that a review will take place on Monday, May 5.

Francis said the case now is in a to-be-set status for May 5 awaiting the results of the evaluation.

He said a trial will not begin on May 5, but a new date should be set then, and he expects it will be a jury trial when reset.

A June 20, 2024, news release from the U.S. Marshals Service stated that a multi-agency fugitive investigation spanning several states and lasting more than 10 months came to an end June 18, 2024, when Hampton Roads rapper Tashawnda “23 Brazy” Nicole Drayton was arrested in an apartment complex in Boykins.

Drayton had the following outstanding arrest warrants from the City of Franklin Police Department in connection with a shooting that left a 10-year-old boy dead and an adult male injured in Franklin on Aug. 9, 2023: first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, shooting into an occupied dwelling (two counts), use of a firearm in commission of a felony, threat to burn or damage a building, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharge of a firearm in a public place.

During the course of the more than 10-month search for Drayton, the U.S. Marshals Service offered a $5,000 reward that was increased to $10,000 and then $20,000 in the effort to obtain information leading to her arrest.

According to the Virginia Circuit Court Case Information system, Drayton’s case came before a grand jury on Nov. 18, 2024, and the result was a “True Bill,” which Francis said was a decision by the grand jury that there was probable cause to believe that a crime had been committed and probable cause that Drayton may have been involved.

The system notes that at a Dec. 10, 2024, arraignment, Drayton pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges against her. 

Francis noted that she was initially set for a May jury trial.