The woman suspected of killing her half-brother during an argument at their father’s Northeast DC home was released from custody today, even though a judge found substantial probability that she killed the man.
Jewell Washington sat quietly through the proceedings Monday, occasionally taking notes while witnesses spoke.
Her half-brother, Mark Goldring, was fatally stabbed on Oct. 11. MPD Homicide Detective Douglas Carlson testified Monday that Washington was at her father’s house that day and that Goldring, Goldring’s wife, and Goldring’s 18-year-old son all lived there. Carlson said Washington argued that afternoon with Goldring’s wife about some bedding that Washington had come to pickup.
The wife called Goldring during the argument, warning him that if he did not come home right then, she was going to “F*** [Washington] up,” Carlson said.
Washington told authorities later that same day that Goldring had punched her and that after he punched her she stabbed him. When interviewed by officers, her shirt, pants, legs and shoes were covered in blood, Carlson said.
Washington turned herself into authorities by calling 911 a little more than an hour after the stabbing was reported, Carlson said. In that time, MPD’s investigation shows, she texted her boyfriend, saying “I stabbed that bitch,” and posted to her Facebook wall: “My life is like a movie. wtf!!!”
Washington’s sister, who is also her adoptive mother, testified at the hearing Monday, appearing to back-up what may be a potential claim of self-defense. The sister said Goldring had assaulted and/or threatened family members other than Washington, including Washington’s father and another sister.
An investigator for the Public Defender Service also testified. He said that Washington’s father (who is also Goldring’s father) said that Goldring had threatened him with a baseball bat sized 2-by-4 on two occasions. The investigator said the father characterized Goldring as “a violent person.” Of Washington, he was reported to have said “she has always been calm.”
Prosecutor Emily Miller argued that Washington visited her father’s house daily with her two-year-old child, implying that if Washington had felt that Goldring was dangerous she would not have visited with her child so frequently.
Washington is next due in court Feb. 17.
