Three young women have been charged with murder in the death of a 64-year-old disabled man in Washington, DC
On Thursday, a 13-year-old girl was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, and on Friday, two more girls, ages 12 and 13, were arrested and charged with second-degree murder, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said in a statement published in Friday.
Two judges dismissed the first-degree murder charge in the case, citing a lack of evidence, according to The Washington Postwho was present at the hearings.
Three girls allegedly assaulted 64-year-old Reggie Brown on Oct. 17, 2023, MPD said in a statement. When officers responded to the incident, Brown was pronounced dead at the scene, and an autopsy performed by the chief medical examiner later found he suffered blunt force trauma consistent with homicide.
During a hearing in D.C. Superior Court on Friday, investigators played video of the incident allegedly taken by the girls. According to Washington Post, the one-minute clip showed five girls chasing Brown into an alley in the northwest part of the city, pulling him off a chain-link fence he was trying to climb and stomping on his head.
Then they took off his pants, took a belt and beat him with it, The Washington Post reported. One of the girls in the video could be heard cheering, “He’s leaking,” referring to Brown’s bleeding head, the newspaper added.
One detective in court called the video “horrific,” reports NBC Washington.
During the two-day trial, homicide detective Harry Singleton testified that Brown was disabled, according to Washington Fast. He had mental issues, two fingers on each hand and a metal plate in his head, Singleton said.
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Investigators also released security footage of an adult man, who appeared to be in his early 20s, grabbing Brown by the collar and throwing him against a wall, The Washington Post reported.
Singleton also testified that a group of girls — who were unrelated to Brown — were walking by and witnessed the incident, NBC reports. According to Washington fast, a detective interviewed a witness who stated that one of the girls approached the man who attacked Brown and asked, “Can I fight him?” referring to Brown, to which the man replied, “Yes.”
One of the girls interviewed by investigators stated that two girls in the group of five did not want to fight with Brown, but the man threatened to shoot them with a gun he kept in his waistband, according to The Washington Post.
The three girls, who have not been publicly identified by police because of their ages, were charged as juveniles and pleaded not guilty. Washington Fast reported.
The 12-year-old involved in the case is now on crutches after he was shot on Friday morning before being arrested, the newspaper reported. added. According to NBC Washington, police said she was shot and wounded in her home less than a mile from where Brown was attacked. She was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the affiliate station reported.
No other details about the shooting have reportedly been released The Washington Post.
All three girls are being held at the DC Youth Center and are expected back in court this week. The Washington Post found out during the discussion.
“My uncle really did not deserve this,” Brown’s niece told NBC Washington in a statement. “He was known in this community for years, so that this happened where he lived for 64 years [years] is crazy They have to answer.”
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Source: HIS Education