Four people have been arrested and two have been charged with murder in connection with the April 14 slaying of Washington, D.C., school principal Brian Betts, who Montgomery County Police believe called a dating chat line the night of his death and was killed by the men who responded. The arrests, made throughout the District and Prince George's County Monday, are major developments in the otherwise quiet three-week investigation that began after Betts was found dead April 15 in his home on Columbia Boulevard in Silver Spring, the victim of at least one gunshot wound.
Alante Saunders, 18, with no fixed address, and Sharif Tau Lancaster, 18, of the 5300 block of Fifth Street NW in Washington, D.C., were both arrested in the 1300 block of Southview Drive in Oxon Hill Monday. Both have been charged with first-degree murder and will have a bond hearing Tuesday in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville. Lancaster's fingerprints were found inside Betts' bedroom and Saunders' fingerprints were found inside and outside Betts' 2007 Nissan Xterra, which was stolen from his residence the night of his murder and found on April 17 in the 3900 block of Fourth Street SE in the District, alleged Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger in a press conference Monday evening.
Another 18-year-old male with no fixed address is expected to be charged with first-degree murder as well, Manger said, but he will not be identified until those charges are filed. Police also arrested Artura Otey Williams, 46, at her home in the 5300 block of Fifth Street NW in Washington, D.C., Monday morning, after executing a search warrant. Williams, who is Lancaster's mother, has been charged with two counts of knowingly receiving a stolen credit card with the intent to use it, attempted theft less than $1,000 in value, and attempted fraudulent credit card use, Manger said. Williams is in police custody in D.C. awaiting extradition to Montgomery County, said Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy.
There is surveillance footage of Williams using Betts' credit cards on April 16 at the Giant Foods grocery store at 1280 East West Highway in Silver Spring, according to a police news release. It is not known why she was in Silver Spring a day after Betts' body was found, said Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman. Betts' wallet was found in the Southview Drive residence, as was a receipt for a pair of Nike shoes dated after police believe Betts was killed, which is around 11:30 p.m. April 14, Manger said.
Manger said the suspects were connected to Betts through a national chat line "described as a sex chat line and social networking line." Police do not know how many people responded to Betts' home or how the suspects were connected to the chat line, but they said that the motive for Betts' death is believed to be robbery. Both Lancaster and Saunders have no known ties to Betts prior to the alleged phone call, the news release said. Additional suspects and charges may follow, Manger said. SOURCE: Gazette
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
May 4, 2010
May 3, 2010
UPDATE: Police arrest 3 in Brian Betts murder
Maryland police announced today that they have arrested two men and one woman in connection with the killing of Brian Betts, a popular Washington, D.C., public school principal. Artura Otey Williams, 46, was taken into custody this morning and charged with two counts of credit card misuse described by police as being "in relation to the Betts homicide," The Washington Post reported. Surveillance video captured Williams using one of Betts' credit cards at a supermarket in Silver Spring, Md., less than two miles from his home, police said. Maryland police said Monday that three people have been arrested in connection with the murder of Washington, D.C., principal Brian Betts.
"This credit card was taken from the scene of the murder, and somebody was using it the day after a man was found dead," Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. Paul R. Starks told The Washington Post.
By afternoon, police said they had arrested and charged two men directly in connection with the murder. The names of the suspects have not been released, but they are said to be in their late teens to early 20s. One of the men is Williams' son, police said. Betts was found shot dead in his home in Silver Spring on April 15. There were no signs of forced entry, and Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger has said he suspected from the start of the investigation that the crime was premeditated.
So far, police said, there is no indication that Betts knew any of the three people arrested. Betts was handpicked by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee to run Shaw Middle School, where he was given free rein to shape the curriculum and to hire and fire teachers in order to improve the struggling school's performance.
"With him, potentially more than any other principal in this city, these children are going to be devastated because they have such an intense relationship with him," Rhee told The Washington Post shortly after Betts' death. "I never talked to Brian at any point where he didn't have kids with him." SOURCE: AOL News
"This credit card was taken from the scene of the murder, and somebody was using it the day after a man was found dead," Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. Paul R. Starks told The Washington Post.
By afternoon, police said they had arrested and charged two men directly in connection with the murder. The names of the suspects have not been released, but they are said to be in their late teens to early 20s. One of the men is Williams' son, police said. Betts was found shot dead in his home in Silver Spring on April 15. There were no signs of forced entry, and Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger has said he suspected from the start of the investigation that the crime was premeditated.
So far, police said, there is no indication that Betts knew any of the three people arrested. Betts was handpicked by D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee to run Shaw Middle School, where he was given free rein to shape the curriculum and to hire and fire teachers in order to improve the struggling school's performance.
"With him, potentially more than any other principal in this city, these children are going to be devastated because they have such an intense relationship with him," Rhee told The Washington Post shortly after Betts' death. "I never talked to Brian at any point where he didn't have kids with him." SOURCE: AOL News
Brian Betts Update: Arrest Made in Killing of Beloved DC Principal, Cops Expect More Arrests
WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) Police in Montgomery County, Md. announced Monday that they have made an arrest in connection with the killing of beloved D.C. middle school principal Brian Betts. Capt. Paul Starks of the Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Department, said a 46-year-old woman was arrested on two counts of credit card misuse "in relation to the [Brian] Betts homicide," and said that investigators expect to make more arrests. Authorities would not disclose the woman's identity or reveal further details but added that two search warrants were served earlier Monday at separate Washington locations, near where Betts' SUV was found after he was killed.
"The circumstances surrounding his death generally have led investigators to believe this was not a random crime," Starks said. "There was no ransack. The front door was closed but unlocked. There was no forced entry in the home."
Police have narrowed the timeline of his murder to sometime the night of April 14th, after learning that he called his sister around 11 p.m. that night to check in with her. His SUV was found a day later. Betts was found shot to death in his Silver Springs, Md. home, about 12 miles outside of Washington, D.C., April 15. Co-workers became worried after the educator, who had just arrived at a long-troubled urban school, didn't show up for work that morning, according to the Washington Post. News of the arrest came two days after more than 300 family, friends, students and colleagues gathered at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Md. to mourn an educator regarded as a visionary and innovator.
Among the mourners was a group of 9th graders who liked Betts so much that they lobbied the school system to stay at Shaw Middle School for an extra year as 9th graders. It was unprecedented, according to CBS affiliate WUSA. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at 240-773-5070. SOURCE: CBS
"The circumstances surrounding his death generally have led investigators to believe this was not a random crime," Starks said. "There was no ransack. The front door was closed but unlocked. There was no forced entry in the home."
Police have narrowed the timeline of his murder to sometime the night of April 14th, after learning that he called his sister around 11 p.m. that night to check in with her. His SUV was found a day later. Betts was found shot to death in his Silver Springs, Md. home, about 12 miles outside of Washington, D.C., April 15. Co-workers became worried after the educator, who had just arrived at a long-troubled urban school, didn't show up for work that morning, according to the Washington Post. News of the arrest came two days after more than 300 family, friends, students and colleagues gathered at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Md. to mourn an educator regarded as a visionary and innovator.
Among the mourners was a group of 9th graders who liked Betts so much that they lobbied the school system to stay at Shaw Middle School for an extra year as 9th graders. It was unprecedented, according to CBS affiliate WUSA. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police at 240-773-5070. SOURCE: CBS
May 1, 2010
No word on suspects in Principal Betts' murder
WASHINGTON - On a day that was supposed to be happy, investigators still have no arrests and no named suspects on what would have been murdered Shaw Middle School Principal Brian Betts' 43rd birthday. "Detectives are aware that it was his birthday," Montgomery County Police Capt. Paul Starks tells WTOP. "And they're aware that a memorial is scheduled for Saturday." Starks would give no indication whether police were closing in on whomever shot Betts in his Silver Spring home. Betts' body was discovered by police April 15.
Police have said they believe at least two suspects may be responsible for Betts' murder and the robbery of his SUV and several items of value that police say were taken from his home.
"It would be symbolic and healing for people on his birthday and at the memorial to not be talking about the criminal case, but we have wanted to close this case since we first heard about it."
Students, teachers, and parents from Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, where Betts led for about 18 months, are holding a private tribute Thursday. Still, Starks says police are not willing to jeopardize any lives or potential prosecutions by rushing to arrest suspects.
"While we're sensitive to these markers in time and significant dates, we want to close this successfully."
A public memorial service for Betts will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. SOURCE: WTOP
Police have said they believe at least two suspects may be responsible for Betts' murder and the robbery of his SUV and several items of value that police say were taken from his home.
"It would be symbolic and healing for people on his birthday and at the memorial to not be talking about the criminal case, but we have wanted to close this case since we first heard about it."
Students, teachers, and parents from Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, where Betts led for about 18 months, are holding a private tribute Thursday. Still, Starks says police are not willing to jeopardize any lives or potential prosecutions by rushing to arrest suspects.
"While we're sensitive to these markers in time and significant dates, we want to close this successfully."
A public memorial service for Betts will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda. SOURCE: WTOP
April 23, 2010
More than one suspect sought in principal's death
Montgomery County Police are searching for a car they believe may be related to the homicide of a Washington, D.C., school principal who was found dead in his Silver Spring home last week. Police also say there could be more than one suspect in his slaying. Police say at 12:15 a.m. April 15, a car was seen leaving an alley adjacent to the home of 42-year-old Brian Betts, a longtime Montgomery County educator and principal at Shaw at Garnet-Patterson Middle School in the District, said Officer Melanie Brenner, a police spokeswoman. Later that evening, Betts was found dead in his bedroom, the victim of at least one gunshot wound. Previously, police recovered Betts's blue Nissan Xterra, which was found Saturday in the 3900 block of Fourth Street SE in the District, 14 miles away from his Silver Spring home.
With two cars connected to the scene of Betts's slaying, police believe more than one person could be responsible for his death, Brenner said. Unfortunately, she added, police were given no description of the car seen leaving the alley.
"We have zero description right now," she said Wednesday. "We don't know if it's a truck or a car, we just know it wasn't his vehicle."
Police have determined Betts's sport utility vehicle was abandoned in D.C. between noon and 3 p.m. April 16 by two men, but there is no further description of the individuals, said Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman. The vehicle was left there intact with no evidence of theft. Police do not know why the car was dumped in that location. Police have also learned Betts was alive until 11:30 p.m. April 14, through evidence of phone conversations he had that night.
Before his death, Betts was a pioneer in D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's program to reform the District's public schools. Rhee recruited Betts to become Shaw's principal in 2008 to revitalize the struggling D.C. school, which temporarily had merged with Garnet-Patterson.
Before coming to Shaw, Betts had taught at Rock View Elementary in Kensington, Redland and Neelsville middle schools in Rockville and Germantown, respectively, and was an assistant principal running the arts magnet program at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in Wheaton from the school's opening in 2005 to 2008. A public memorial for Betts will be held May 1 at Strathmore Music Hall in Bethesda. Officials could not be immediately reached to determine the time of the memorial. SOURCE: Gazette
With two cars connected to the scene of Betts's slaying, police believe more than one person could be responsible for his death, Brenner said. Unfortunately, she added, police were given no description of the car seen leaving the alley.
"We have zero description right now," she said Wednesday. "We don't know if it's a truck or a car, we just know it wasn't his vehicle."
Police have determined Betts's sport utility vehicle was abandoned in D.C. between noon and 3 p.m. April 16 by two men, but there is no further description of the individuals, said Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman. The vehicle was left there intact with no evidence of theft. Police do not know why the car was dumped in that location. Police have also learned Betts was alive until 11:30 p.m. April 14, through evidence of phone conversations he had that night.
Before his death, Betts was a pioneer in D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee's program to reform the District's public schools. Rhee recruited Betts to become Shaw's principal in 2008 to revitalize the struggling D.C. school, which temporarily had merged with Garnet-Patterson.
Before coming to Shaw, Betts had taught at Rock View Elementary in Kensington, Redland and Neelsville middle schools in Rockville and Germantown, respectively, and was an assistant principal running the arts magnet program at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School in Wheaton from the school's opening in 2005 to 2008. A public memorial for Betts will be held May 1 at Strathmore Music Hall in Bethesda. Officials could not be immediately reached to determine the time of the memorial. SOURCE: Gazette
April 21, 2010
Slain D.C. middle school principal was gay
Lou Chibbaro, honored last evening with a GLAA Distinguished Service Award, reports in DC Agenda:
Brian Betts, the highly acclaimed D.C. middle school principal who was found shot to death April 15 at his home in Silver Spring, Md., was out as a gay man to a circle of friends and D.C. public school system colleagues, multiple sources have told the D.C. Agenda. Montgomery County police said they discovered Betts’ fully clothed body in a second floor bedroom in his house along the 9300 block of Columbia Boulevard in Silver Spring. Police noted there were no signs of a forced entry into the house, leading them to believe that Betts, 42, invited his killer or killers inside.
Police spokesperson Sgt. C. Thomas Jordan said he could not comment on whether Betts’ murder was related to the slain principal’s sexual orientation, saying only that homicide detectives were investigating all possible angles of the case to identify a suspect or suspects.
“I know our investigators are talking to everyone they know of to get to the bottom of the case,” he said. “We are going to investigate every avenue. Our role is to solve a homicide.” SOURCE: GLAA Forum
Brian Betts, the highly acclaimed D.C. middle school principal who was found shot to death April 15 at his home in Silver Spring, Md., was out as a gay man to a circle of friends and D.C. public school system colleagues, multiple sources have told the D.C. Agenda. Montgomery County police said they discovered Betts’ fully clothed body in a second floor bedroom in his house along the 9300 block of Columbia Boulevard in Silver Spring. Police noted there were no signs of a forced entry into the house, leading them to believe that Betts, 42, invited his killer or killers inside.
Police spokesperson Sgt. C. Thomas Jordan said he could not comment on whether Betts’ murder was related to the slain principal’s sexual orientation, saying only that homicide detectives were investigating all possible angles of the case to identify a suspect or suspects.
“I know our investigators are talking to everyone they know of to get to the bottom of the case,” he said. “We are going to investigate every avenue. Our role is to solve a homicide.” SOURCE: GLAA Forum
Funeral Plans for Shaw Prinicpal Brian Betts
WASHINGTON - Brian Betts' family will receive friends from 6:00-9:00 P.M. Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at Pierce Funeral Home, 9609 Center Street, Manassas, Virginia. Private services will be held Thursday, April 22, 2010 followed by burial at Stonewall Memory Gardens, Manassas. Brian Keith Betts, age 42 of Silver Spring, Maryland, formerly of Manassas, Virginia died unexpectedly Thursday, April 15, 2010. Brian was a graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School, Manassas; a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and received his Masters Degree from Hood College. He was currently the Principal of Shaw Middle School, Washington, DC and was previously employed by Montgomery County Schools.
Survivors include his parents, Delbert and Doris Betts of Winter Haven, Florida; one sister, Jennifer Altomare of St. Leonard, Maryland; two nieces, Nicole and Emily Altomare and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Expressions of sympathy are accepted in lieu of flowers. Go to DC Public Schools web site and click the donation icon to the left. Make a donation then to DC Public Education Fund and include a note saying this donation is in memory of Principal Brian Betts.
Survivors include his parents, Delbert and Doris Betts of Winter Haven, Florida; one sister, Jennifer Altomare of St. Leonard, Maryland; two nieces, Nicole and Emily Altomare and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Expressions of sympathy are accepted in lieu of flowers. Go to DC Public Schools web site and click the donation icon to the left. Make a donation then to DC Public Education Fund and include a note saying this donation is in memory of Principal Brian Betts.
April 19, 2010
UPDATE #3: Detectives search for more clues in principal's slaying
Montgomery County homicide detectives spent more than four hours Sunday inside the home of slain school principal Brian Betts as the probe into his shooting death entered its third day. Detectives are trying to learn who was with Betts in his final hours. At one point, an officer retrieved a black toolbox and other items from the evidence van and brought them into the house. Detectives could be seen carrying at least one brown paper bag, the kind typically used to store evidence, from the home. Forensics experts also showed up at the house in Silver Spring, just south of the Capital Beltway.
"They're revisiting the scene, seeing if there is anything they missed," said Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman.
Detectives who went in and out of the house Sunday declined to comment. Well-wishers came by Betts's house as well, leaving flowers just off the curb in his front yard. Shelagh Smith, who knew Betts through her daughter, drove 30 minutes from Rockville to leave green roses. "He really believed he could turn kids lives around, and I think he did," Smith said. "He showed a special kindness."
Neighbors said they saw Betts in his back yard Wednesday evening. The next day, he didn't show up at Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, in the District. That evening, a co-worker went to his house to check on him, was able to go inside, saw a light on upstairs, left the house and called police. Officers found Betts's clothed body in one of his bedrooms. Police remained tight-lipped about the case Sunday, refusing to divulge new information.
On Saturday, Betts's SUV turned up 14 miles away in Southeast Washington. Investigators have made no arrests in the death of Betts, who was remembered for his dedication to students. SOURCE: Washington Post
"They're revisiting the scene, seeing if there is anything they missed," said Capt. Paul Starks, a police spokesman.
Detectives who went in and out of the house Sunday declined to comment. Well-wishers came by Betts's house as well, leaving flowers just off the curb in his front yard. Shelagh Smith, who knew Betts through her daughter, drove 30 minutes from Rockville to leave green roses. "He really believed he could turn kids lives around, and I think he did," Smith said. "He showed a special kindness."
Neighbors said they saw Betts in his back yard Wednesday evening. The next day, he didn't show up at Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, in the District. That evening, a co-worker went to his house to check on him, was able to go inside, saw a light on upstairs, left the house and called police. Officers found Betts's clothed body in one of his bedrooms. Police remained tight-lipped about the case Sunday, refusing to divulge new information.
On Saturday, Betts's SUV turned up 14 miles away in Southeast Washington. Investigators have made no arrests in the death of Betts, who was remembered for his dedication to students. SOURCE: Washington Post
April 18, 2010
UPDATE #2: Police recover SUV of slain D.C. Principal Brian Betts
A dark blue sport-utility vehicle that belonged to beloved D.C. schools Principal Brian Betts turned up Saturday, parked next to a church van and tucked behind a children's ministry in Southeast Washington. The clean, apparently undamaged Nissan Xterra was 14 miles from the Silver Spring home where Betts, 42, was found dead Thursday of at least one gunshot wound. Montgomery County detectives retrieved the car and searched it for evidence.
"Somebody was in it," said Capt. Paul Starks, a Montgomery police spokesman. "We want to find out about the person who was in it."
Betts was a rising star in D.C. public schools as principal of Shaw Middle School at Garnet-Patterson, where he had gone to work in 2008 with a handpicked staff of young teachers as part of Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's citywide school overhaul movement. Colleagues alerted police Thursday after Betts did not report for work. Police say they think he was killed by someone he let into his home. Betts's clothed body was found inside a bedroom, police said Saturday. Detectives quickly learned that the Nissan was missing, as were items from Betts's home. Since discovering the body, the police department has released few details, concerned that doing so might tip off any suspects to what they know.
Police are trying to piece together a timeline of where Betts was and who he was with in his final hours. Neighbors have said they saw him in his back yard Wednesday evening. It wasn't uncommon for him to have friends over. In his back yard Saturday was evidence of those gatherings: two grills, and a hot tub perched on a deck. From the start of the case, detectives wanted to find the Nissan, which residents said appeared in the 3900 block of Fourth Street SE between noon and 1:30 p.m. Friday.
"We just figured it was a stolen vehicle, because it was hidden behind our vehicle," said Sherrita Mullen, who lives and works at the Metro D.C. Kids' Konnection, housed in the building next to where the car was found. SOURCE: Washington Post
April 17, 2010
UPDATE: D.C. principal found dead in his Silver Spring home
Montgomery County police have determined that D.C. public schools Principal Brian Keith Betts was shot and killed inside his Silver Spring home, schools spokesman Sgt. C. Tom Jordan said. Police have ruled the death a homicide, saying it was not a random killing, but they do not yet have a suspect, Jordan said. They are also looking for his blue Nissan Xterra vehicle, which was missing from his home Thursday night when co-workers found his body. The sudden death has shocked the D.C. and Montgomery County school community. On Friday morning, the 300-plus students and staff at Shaw Garnet-Patterson Middle School in Washington, D.C., were reeling from the sudden death of their leader.
"I still can't even begin to realize that he's gone," said teary-eyed ninth-grader Dominique Watson as she clutched a copy of a photo of a smiling Betts in front of a library.
When 42-year-old Betts wasn't standing on his usual corner greeting students at V and 10th St N.W. in Washington, D.C., early Thursday morning, his staff at Shaw Garnet-Patterson Middle School began to worry. When the principal did not show up to the afternoon staff meeting or answer phone calls, the atmosphere in the school became tense.
"That kind of flew up the red flag," said Shaw's baseball and football coach, Jeffrey McCauley.
Betts' Silver Spring home has a bloody past. On Aug. 6, 2002, 47-year-old George Russell and of 9-year-old Erika Smith were found shot and killed in the same home. County police convicted Anthony Quintin Kelly in the murders in 2008. He is now serving life in prison. Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the Nissan Xterra to call 301-279-8000 (the police non-emergency number). Anyone with other information pertaining to this death is asked to call Homicide detectives at 240-773-5070. Callers may remain anonymous. SOURCE: Gazette
"I still can't even begin to realize that he's gone," said teary-eyed ninth-grader Dominique Watson as she clutched a copy of a photo of a smiling Betts in front of a library.
When 42-year-old Betts wasn't standing on his usual corner greeting students at V and 10th St N.W. in Washington, D.C., early Thursday morning, his staff at Shaw Garnet-Patterson Middle School began to worry. When the principal did not show up to the afternoon staff meeting or answer phone calls, the atmosphere in the school became tense.
"That kind of flew up the red flag," said Shaw's baseball and football coach, Jeffrey McCauley.
Betts' Silver Spring home has a bloody past. On Aug. 6, 2002, 47-year-old George Russell and of 9-year-old Erika Smith were found shot and killed in the same home. County police convicted Anthony Quintin Kelly in the murders in 2008. He is now serving life in prison. Detectives are asking anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the Nissan Xterra to call 301-279-8000 (the police non-emergency number). Anyone with other information pertaining to this death is asked to call Homicide detectives at 240-773-5070. Callers may remain anonymous. SOURCE: Gazette
March 22, 2010
Woman Sentenced to Life for Killing, Freezing 2 Daughters
A Maryland woman has been sentenced to life without parole for killing two adopted special-needs children and storing their bodies in a freezer so she could collect more than $150,000 in subsidies for their care.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Algeo called Renee Bowman's crimes "horrific, reprehensible and despicable" and said they were the worst he had seen during his 25 years as an attorney and a judge.
Bowman, who did not testify at her trial, addressed the courtroom today to apologize. "I am very sorry for the abuse of the girls," Bowman said. "It haunts me. It haunts me every day."
Bowman, 44, was arrestedin September 2008 after a third adopted child, a 7-year-old girl, escaped her Lusby, Md., home by jumping out of a second-story bedroom window. Half-nude and covered in blood and feces, the girl told a neighbor, "My mother beats me; she just beats me to death." The neighbor called 911 and reported the abuse.
When authorities conducted a search of Bowman's home, they were shocked to discover the bodies of two young children inside a large freezer. SOURCE: AOL
Ann Heisenfelt, AP
Renee Bowman, here on Jan. 8, abused her three adopted daughters and killed two of them. The third escaped, which led to the discovery of the bodies of the other two.
February 5, 2010
Gaithersburg dad, 18, sentenced for killing son
Portrayed as both an unremorseful child-killer and as a too-young-father consumed by guilt and caught up "in a calamity of issues," the 18-year-old Gaithersburg man blamed for his son's death last year will spend the next 20 years in prison, possibly at the state's psychiatric facility.
Darryl Eugene Powell, of the 9400 block of Merust Lane, pleaded guilty three months ago to one count of child abuse resulting in death for his role in the January 2009 death of his son, Zjaire Williams, 2. He was originally charged with first-degree murder.
Maternal and paternal family members attended Powell's sentencing Jan. 27 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Zjaire's mother's family were upset that Powell has yet to express any remorse, and bristled at his public defender's suggestion that Powell was trying to be a better father after contesting his paternity in 2008.
"Darryl Powell was not a father to that child — maybe just in name, your honor, maybe just in name," said Cynthia Brown, Zjaire's great-great-aunt. "But even that, what kind of father is that? Most animals protect their young — you get rats who protect their young. What manner of ungodly human being would beat an innocent 2-year-old baby to death and then not have the decency not to say ‘I'm sorry'?"
PHOTO CREDIT: Family photo
Zjaire Williams, 2, died after being beaten by his father, Darryl Eugene Powell, 18, in January 2009. Powell was sentenced to 30 years — with 10 years suspended. A judge recommended that he enter the state's psychiatric prison in Patuxent.
Zjaire Williams, 2, died after being beaten by his father, Darryl Eugene Powell, 18, in January 2009. Powell was sentenced to 30 years — with 10 years suspended. A judge recommended that he enter the state's psychiatric prison in Patuxent.
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