Boyfriend Strangles Duke Nurse After She Tried to Comfort Him

In a tragic turn of events, a Duke nurse was killed by her boyfriend in her Durham home on September 10th, 2025. Auriel Lowe, 34, died from strangulation at the hands of her 31-year-old boyfriend, Christopher Whitley.

According to an investigative report, the couple had been dating for two months when the incident occurred. On the morning of September 10th, the two woke up and Whitley was in a "poor mood" for unspecified reasons. When Lowe tried to console him, Whitley allegedly struck her multiple times before grabbing a glass candle jar and hitting her in the head until it broke. He then strangled Lowe until she lost consciousness and ultimately smothered her with a towel.

Whitley has a history of abusive behavior, having been convicted in 2019 of assaulting a family member in Texas. Lowe's parents have called for stricter background checks on dating app users, believing their daughter's life could have been saved if she had known about Whitley's prior conviction.

Whitley remained in jail without bail as of November 13th, 2025, facing a first-degree murder charge for Lowe's tragic death.