Judge Karen Howze ordered Dianna Yvone Lalchan held Friday in connection with a charge of second-degree murder in the shooting death of her husband, Christopher S. Lalchan.
Dianna Lalchan was arrested Thursday morning after Christopher Lalchan died of a gunshot wound to the head.
Charging documents in the case state that Dianna Lalchan called 911 shortly after midnight on March 28. “I shot my husband,” she told the operator, according to the documents.
Later, she told detectives that she was in fear of her life.
MPD announced Dianna Lalchan’s arrest Friday afternoon, but did not release the name of the victim in the case.
According to charging documents, the couple had been married for four years. During a police interrogation, Dianna Lalchan told detectives that Christopher Lalchan had abused her. No reports of abuse were ever filed, according to the documents.
Dianna Lalchan said that on the evening of March 27 her husband called her and asked her to come home; she arrived home around 5 p.m.
Charging documents state that the couple had four weapons in the house: two .40 caliber handguns, a Black Powder .44 caliber antique gun, and a .38 caliber revolver.
Over the course of the evening the two argued several times, Dianna Lalchan told police. She said her husband placed one of the .40 caliber guns on a television stand in the living room, telling her he was placing the gun on the stand so she’d feel safe, the documents say.
As Christopher Lalchan walked away from the stand, Dianna picked up the pistol and fired it three times. She told detectives that she was in fear of being attacked, so she fired the weapon as her husband approached her.
When officers arrived at their home in the 1200 block of 4th Street Southwest, they found Christopher Lalchan lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
Dianna Lalchan told police that although she was fearful, she was not physically assaulted or threatened that night.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 3.
Charging documents and a press release from MPD are below.
March 29, 2013
Arrest Made in the Homicide in the 1200 Block of 4th Street, SW(Washington, DC)-Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch announced an arrest has been made in the fatal shooting which occurred in the 1200 block of 4th Street, SW.
On Thursday, March 28, 2012, at approximately 12:06 am, units from the First District responded to 1200 block of 4th Street, SW for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located an adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel determined that the victim had no signs consistent with life. The decedent’s remains were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where an autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of death.
The decedent’s identity is being withheld at this time pending next of kin notification.
On Thursday, March 28, 2013, members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch arrested 27 year-old Diana Lalchan of Southwest, Washington, DC, charging her with First Degree Murder while Armed.
