In June 1985, D.C. Metropolitan Police Deputy Chief Alfonso Gibson told the Associated Press that the recent killing of 49-year-old Catherine Fuller was “probably one of the most brutal murders that ever took place in Washington.”
Catherine Fuller’s life ended as the sun was setting on Oct. 1, 1984. As she walked home from a grocery store, a group of young toughs followed her. They murdered her in a garage. The crime attracted scant notice.
The police arrested a suspect three days later, one more on Nov. 29, two on Dec. 4, five on Dec. 9 and, intermittently, more suspects as the investigation continued.
The last arrest was May 22.
Sixteen young men, ages ranging from 17 to 22, stand accused of felony murder—a slaying that occurs in the commission of a felony, in this case robbery.
“To the best of my knowledge, it is the largest number of arrests in a single homicide in the city’s history,” said Lt. William White III, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Department.
Now the cases of the seven men finally convicted in Fuller’s death are under scrutiny.
According to a report yesterday by MyFoxDC, new evidence in the case has convinced a D.C. Superior Court Judge to schedule a hearing for next fall.
Christopher Turner, Kelvin Smith, Levy Rouse, Clifton Yarborough, Timothy Catlett, Charles Turner and Russell Overton were all convicted and are still behind bars.
But did they really do it?
“Four of the six main witnesses at trial have recanted their testimony,” said Shawn Armbrust with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. “One of them is dead and can’t recant and one of them we haven’t been able to find. And the stories they have told completely separately about the pressure that was on them to sort of, in essence, play ball in this case are all much more similar than their trial testimony.”
Read more about the case at Patrice Gaines Justice Issues and watch the video from MyFoxDC, below.
New Evidence Raises Questions in Catherine Fuller Murder Case: MyFoxDC.com
