A year after one of Western North Carolina’s deadliest crime sprees, the families of Malerie Crisp and retired Marshall Police Chief Mike Boone are seeking justice. Boone, a 54-year-old grandfather from Yancey County, was killed on August 2, 2024, when Ryan Ricky Houston drove the wrong way on I-26 and hit Boone’s vehicle head-on. Both men died in the fiery crash. Houston fatally stabbed Crisp the day before after another car crash.
Boone’s estate has filed a lawsuit in Yancey County, where he lived, seeking damages from Houston’s estate. The wrongful death claim is separate from a larger federal lawsuit filed by the family of Malerie Crisp.
The lawsuits stem from Houston’s violent crime spree and the alleged failures of Buncombe County’s pretrial services program, which allowed him to remain free on bond despite over 240 GPS alert violations and a romantic relationship with his pretrial officer. Houston had previously shot a sheriff’s deputy, yet no violations were reported to a judge before he killed Crisp and Boone.
Despite ongoing investigations and policy changes, there has been no public explanation from Buncombe County.
