A DC man charged in connection with the stabbing death of 58-year-old Timothy Benjamin is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea. He says he believes he has mental health issues and was not adequately represented by his attorney.
In a letter written to, Marvin Moore, 37, expressed those concerns in a letter written to Judge Russell Canan. He also wrote that he thought he was pleading to involuntary manslaughter without a weapon. His plea is entered in court records as voluntary manslaughter.
“After consulting with a few [people], all I want is a fair trial,” Moore said in his letter.
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Judge Jennifer Anderson found probable cause Friday in the case against James Cornelius Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting 30-year-old Jason Alexander Murphy in August 2013.
Murphy was found shot in the 1300 block of Savannah Street, Southeast early in the morning on August 31.
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Judge Ronna Beck sentenced William Hogan to 15 years in prison Friday for the September 2013 shooting death of 21-year-old Robert Spencer.
“There could have been a conviction here that would have given the defendant more time in prison,” Judge Beck said Friday.
Turning to Hogan she said, “I hope you understand that what you did was useless and senseless.”
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Howard Randolph was released to a halfway house Friday after Judge Russell Canan did not find substantial probability that Randolph was the person responsible for the death of Rayshawn Hailstock.
Prosecutors believe that Hailstock died from “blunt force impact to the jaw and neck” after a single punch from Randolph knocked him unconscious and he fell to the sidewalk. Randolph, 25, is suspected of involuntary manslaughter. Read more
Rashad Slye pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed Friday in connection with the 2011 shooting death of 40-year-old cab driver, Domingo Ezirike.
Slye will likely get 17 years in prison for Ezirike’s death, under an agreement with prosecutors. Read more
Prosecutors in the case charging Albrecht Muth with the August 2011 death of his 91-year-old wife, Viola Herms Drath, have argued at trial that Drath’s murder was the culmination of years of domestic abuse by Muth.
Thursday was the third day of testimony that is expected to last two to three weeks. Muth’s defense has not yet presented their case.
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Days after 91-year-old Viola Drath was found dead in her Georgetown home, her husband Albretch Muth wrote a series of emails to a man he’d just met through a personal ad.
“Week was horrible. Start of week even worse,” said one. “Hope you’re well. Im [sic] not. Have you said your prayers?” said another.
Muth, 49, is charged with first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances for the August 2011 strangulation of Drath.
Auran Awan testified Wednesday that he met Muth through Craigslist in August 2011. Though their correspondence lasted eight days, defense attorneys say the two men exchanged hundreds of emails. Muth told Awan that he was “well-off” and that he would help Awan advance his career and find housing, Awan said. After Awan learned through the news of Drath’s death, the two men continued to email each other.
In his last email to Awan, Muth wrote, “I am assured of the almighty. I am assured of my men. […] Am I assured of you?” Read more
Jurors heard opening arguments Tuesday in the trial of Albrecht Muth, the 49-year-old man who dressed as an Iraqi general before his arrest, has claimed his wife’s murder was an assassination by Iranians, and has fasted for over a year, unable to attend his own trial.
Muth, 49, is charged with first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances in the death of his 91-year-old wife, Viola Herms Drath, who was found on August 12, 2011 beaten and strangled in her Georgetown home.
Francesca Drath, daughter of Viola Drath, took the stand Tuesday to tell jurors about Muth. Francesca Drath admitted that she did not see her mother as frequently in the years before her death because of her dislike of Muth, though she was still allowed to visit the family home.
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A DC man suspected of killing his wife in DC’s first homicide of 2014 was ordered held Monday at his first court appearance on the charge.
Alphonso Cleveland, 51, faces a charge of second-degree murder while armed. His wife, Claudia Hall, 51, was fatally stabbed.
Hall was found by police January 3 around 2:20 p.m. in her apartment on the 300 block of 18th Place Northeast.
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A jury was selected Monday for Albrecht Muth‘s murder trial, which is expected to begin at 10 a.m. Tuesday with opening statements.
On Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys sifted through a pool of more than 50 potential jurors in a process that took more than four hours. The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
Eleven men and four women were selected as jurors. Three of those 15 jurors will be designated as alternates at the conclusion of trial.
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