UPDATED with press release from MPD at bottom of story.
A fight over dog “mess” left one man dead in a Southeast DC neighborhood Sunday morning.
The Washington Post reported earlier today that a man was unconscious and not breathing following a stabbing assault in the 3600 block of Highwood Drive SE.
According to a report from WJLA and an announcement on a neighborhood listserve, the victim, identified as Robert Wright, has died. Wright’s neighbor, Ellsworth Colbert, is in custody, WJLA reports.
Wrote Julie E. Rones on the Hillcrest DC listserv:
It is with extreme sadness that I just learned about the unfortunate demise of a 34 year old who grew up around here and who played with a neighbor’s son when they were little.The
older one and the younger one got in an altercation allegedly precipitated by the older one over dog mess. They fought on Highwood Dr. near Carpenter and the younger one was stabbed and died this morning.
The message was cross-posted to East of the River and other local forums.
Reported WJLA:
Ellsworth Colbert, a volunteer on Kevin Chavous’s D.C. Council Campaign, has killed his neighbor, 37-year-old Robert Wright, police say.
Colbert has been charged with second degree murder while armed, police say.
Councilmember Yvette Alexander tells ABC7 that while details remain sketchy, it appears a dog belonging to either the victim or suspect defecated on the other’s property, starting an argument.
MPD issued a press release Sunday evening. It read:
March 4, 2012
Homicide & Arrest: 3600 Block of Highwood Drive, SE
(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide branch have announced that an arrest has been made in the fatal stabbing which occurred in the 3600 block of Highwood Drive, SE.
On Sunday, March 4, 2012, at approximately 10:17 am units from the Sixth District responded to the 3600 block of Highwood Dr., SE to investigate the report of a male who had been stabbed. Upon their arrival, they located an adult male suffering from stab wounds. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel transported the victim to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The decedent was identified as 37-year-old Robert Leroy Wright of Southeast, Washington, DC.
On Sunday, March 4, 2012, at approximately 11:01 am, homicide detectives arrested 56 year-old Ellsworth Colbert of Southeast, Washington, DC, charging him with Murder Two while Armed in the fatal stabbing of Robert Leroy Wright.
