Buncombe County, NC · Daily edition

Buncombe County news for Wednesday, October 14, 2026

2 stories from Buncombe County, in about three minutes.

Crime · Asheville, NC

Swannanoa Man Sentenced to Prison for Indecent Exposure in Downtown Asheville

Michael Matthew Murphy Jr., 44, of Swannanoa, pleaded guilty in Buncombe County Superior Court on Oct. 13 to two felony counts of taking indecent liberties with minors, one felony indecent exposure count, and five misdemeanor indecent exposure counts stemming from incidents in downtown Asheville in May 2026. Judge Sherri W. Elliott sentenced Murphy to 21 to 35 months in prison, followed by 30-year sex offender registration and a lifetime no-contact order with the juvenile victims. The convictions expanded after a witness reported additional incidents near Patton Avenue and South French Broad Avenue following initial media coverage of the June 2026 arrest by Asheville Police Department.

Source: ABC 13 News Read the full story ↗

Education · Asheville, NC

A-B Tech Students' Lubricant Experiment Launches on SpaceX Mission to ISS

Three students at A-B Tech in Asheville, N.C., developed a lubricating-oils experiment that launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday at 6:33 a.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Student Curtis Epley, studying diesel and heavy equipment technology, led the project, which tests how oils behave in microgravity to help astronauts maintain spacecraft engines and moving parts. The experiment is part of NASA's Student Spaceflight Experiments Program involving 21 colleges; it was selected last December. The Dragon spacecraft carrying the experiment is expected to dock at the International Space Station around 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, with a return to Earth anticipated in mid-November.

Source: ABC 13 News Read the full story ↗