A judge ordered John Dyson and Alisha King held on suspicion of second-degree murder for the stabbing death of Arthur Lee Gaither.
Gaither was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 1200 block of Southern Avenue Southeast.
Security camera video from the apartment complex shows Dyson and King “punching, kneeing and assaulting” Gaither, before fleeing up nearby Wheeler Road, charging documents say. When police arrived, a woman was standing over Gaither, calling for help. Gaither died at George Washington University Hospital.
King told detectives that Dyson, her boyfriend, had received threatening text messages from Gaither that morning, and that Dyson wanted to go over the Gaither’s apartment and “f— the decedent up,” charging documents say.
Dyson and King went to Gaither’s apartment, but he didn’t answer when they knocked, according to charging documents. They left a note.
As they were leaving, though, Gaither met them in the parking lot. Both Dyson and King said Gaither reached toward his waistband, hinting that he had a gun. Why did he need a gun, King asked, documents say. Why not fight Dyson “straight up?”
After the fight, video shows Dyson and King running away, and Gaither, on the ground, not moving. Detectives never found a weapon on him.
Dyson and King are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Friday, December 12, before Judge Russell Canan.
Charging documents are embedded below:
