Judge Ronna Beck found probable cause Friday in the case against Stefon Kirkpatrick. Prosecutors have charged Kirkpatrick with stabbing and killing his 22-year-old girlfriend, Julisa Brittney Washington. Kirkpatrick is held pending a grand jury investigation.
Police found Washington on July 29 around 10:22 a.m. in an alley on the 400 block of Brandywine Street Southeast suffering from an apparent stab wound. Medical services arrived and declared Washington dead on scene. Kirkpatrick, 23, was arrested at the scene of the crime and charged with second-degree murder while armed for Washington’s death.
At a preliminary Friday, Metropolitan Police Detective Brian Bradol said that Kirkpatrick and Washington were seen arguing moments before the murder.
“[Kirkpatrick] was seen pushing the decedent,” Bardol said. “A witness said they were in an argument and that he pulled her like she was a man.”
Charging documents state that a witness told police they saw Washington and Kirkpatrick walking together near the crime scene hours before the stabbing. The witness said that Washington attempted to walk away several times, but Kirkpatrick would pull her back by her arm. The witness told police they last saw them in a verbal argument near the alley where Washington was found dead, documents state.
Another witness at the crime scene approached police and identified Washington as her daughter. The witness then pointed to Kirkpatrick who was nearby and told police, “That’s him,” court documents state.
According to charging documents, Kirkpatrick then approached police with his hands in the air holding a cell phone and a backpack and said, “I want to turn myself in. I did it. No more suffering, no more pain. All I want is one to the head.”
Documents state the witness told police that Kirkpatrick and Washington were involved in a romantic relationship for about five years. The witness said that Washington was approximately four months pregnant with Kirkpatrick’s child the day she was stabbed.
Police said Kirkpatrick acted “violent and irate,” and expressed suicidal thoughts to detectives while in custody, court documents state.
The case is scheduled for a status hearing on January 10, 2014.
