A Grand Jury today indicted Robert Carter for first-degree murder in the shooting death of his daughter, 13-year-old Angel Morse.
Carter was indicted on a total of 23 additional charges related to the killing, including wounding two others, holding six people against their will, and carjacking.
Charging documents allege that Carter shot Morse once through the head while the girl was in the basement of the family’s northwest DC home. Afterwards, witnesses, some of whom were held in the house by Carter, reported to police that Carter told them “he shot and killed Angel because she wouldn’t listen.”
A witness also reported to police that Carter said “Angel is in the basement… I didn’t mean to do it.”
Carter is due in court tomorrow (Thursday) morning at 9:30 in Judge Motley’s courtroom.
A press release from the US Attorney’s Office is after the jump, along with charging documents in the case and the indictment.
District Man Indicted on Murder, Other Charges In Killing of 13-Year-Old Daughter, Wounding of Two Others- Defendant Also Accused of Carjacking a MetroAccess Sedan -
WASHINGTON - Robert Carter, 40, was indicted today by a grand jury on 24 charges stemming from an attack last fall in which he allegedly killed his 13-year-old daughter and wounded two other people, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
The indictment was returned by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and covers a range of crimes that took place on the afternoon of October 29, 2010.
Carter, of Washington, D.C., was indicted on one count of first degree premeditated murder while armed for the death of his daughter, Angel Morse, who was shot once in the head and found inside her residence in the 500 block of Madison Street NW. In addition, Carter was charged with six counts of kidnapping while armed and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed, for holding six family members and acquaintances against their will inside the house, before allegedly shooting and wounding his long-time girlfriend and her 11-year-old son.
The indictment also includes charges against Carter for stealing a car in the aftermath of the shootings. He allegedly abandoned the stolen vehicle in order to carjack a MetroAccess sedan, taking control of that car with an 84-year-old passenger inside. That passenger was eventually released unharmed. Carter allegedly led local police officers on a chase into Prince George’s County, where he crashed the MetroAccess car into a building in Capitol Heights.
Carter has been in custody since his arrest after the crash. If convicted of the charges in the indictment, he faces a maximum of life without the possibility of release.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin O. Lyons and David J. Gorman.
