Prosecutors expect the Grand Jury to indict a Southeast D.C. man on Tuesday for the death of his fiance at their home in March.
Ronald Pickett was in court Friday for a status hearing when AUSA Charles Cobb told the court that he expects a second-degree murder while armed indictment on Tuesday.
Judge Gerald Fisher scheduled Pickett’s arraignment on the charge for Thursday.
Pickett is suspected is killing Vanessa McGee in a shooting. In a preliminary hearing, Detective Carter Adams said Pickett said the night of the shooting, he and McGee were arguing and he had decided to stay the night elsewhere. While packing his belongings he picked up a gun and accidentally fired it when he was pushed or he tripped. The bullet struck McGee in the shoulder, killing her, authorities said.
Prosecutors have sought a charge of second-degree murder in the case, but at the preliminary hearing in March Judge Fisher ruled that there was not, at that juncture, enough evidence. Instead he found probable cause for a manslaughter charge.
On Friday Cobb indicated that with Grand Jury testimony from witnesses, the government is again seeking a second-degree murder charge in the case.
