Mark Kenyetta Bowser Jr. | Homicide Watch DC

Detective: Tracy Womack Was Stabbed Over 40 Times

Amelia Rufer — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 23:00:59 -0400

A judge found probable cause in the case against Mark Kenyatta Bowser Jr. for the murder of Tracy Womack Tuesday, a ruling that prompted audible affirmation from Womack's friends and family.

Police discovered 39-year-old Womack unconscious on the bedroom floor at her home in the 4600 block of Benning Road Southeast.

"How many times was the victim stabbed?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Bradford asked Detective Marvin Washington in court Tuesday.

"Over 40 times," Washington answered. Gasps could be heard from friends and family in the courtroom, many of whom burst into tears.

Prosecutors said Womack was found covered in blood with her pants pulled down.

"I'm going to hold the defendant, because not just that this is second-degree murder," Judge John Ramsey Johnson told the court, "but the vicious way it was committed with 40 stab wounds to Ms. Womack."

Defense attorney Gabriel Diaz argued that the government failed to find a motive that would lead Bowser to kill Womack.

"It's true that we don't know a motive," Johnson replied, "but in the court's mind that makes him more dangerous."

According to Washington, the detective, a witness inside Womack's apartment recognized Bowser, who came in through the unlocked front door.

Bowser made a sexual advance toward that witness, Washington said, and tried to "grab" her before entering Womack's bedroom.

The witness recognized the suspect as "Piggy," according to court documents. She told police she had smoked PCP with him occasionally over the last year.

Diaz, the defense attorney argued that the witness's statement was not reliable, referencing her statement to police where she admitted to smoking PCP earlier that day.

"All that the government has provided is one ID from one witness who was on PCP and potentially drunk at the time of the incident," Diaz said. "The ID was made under the most subjective circumstances that probably exist in our justice system."

A status hearing was set for Nov. 18 at 9:30 a.m.

Mark Bowser Held in Stabbing Death of Tracy Womack

Megan Arellano — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 16:27:12 -0400

Judge Karen Howze ordered 35-year-old Mark Kenyatta Bowser Jr. held Monday on suspicion of second-degree murder in connection to the stabbing death of Tracy Womack.

Womack was found on Sept. 20 in her home in the 4600 block of Benning Road Southeast, covered in blood with multiple stab wounds, charging documents say.

At the hospital, documents say, Womack was seen with multiple stab wounds, including wounds to the face, neck, chest, abdomen, both arms, and both hands.

A witness who was inside Womack's apartment told police that Bowser entered the apartment uninvited that night, documents say.

According to the documents, the witness told Bowser that Womack was sleeping, and Bowser pushed past the person into Womack's bedroom. Seconds later, the witness heard the sounds of a struggle coming from inside the bedroom.

The witness tried knocking on the door, then tried to open then door, "but felt some resistance from inside the room," documents say. While pushing on the door, the witness said that it saw Bowser struggling with Womack.

"He's cutting and stabbing me," Womack yelled, according to the witness.

The bedroom door was then pushed closed and locked from the inside by Bowser, the witness told police, while Womack continued yelling for help.

According to the documents, the witness then ran out of the apartment to get help and ran into a second witness. The second witness told police that when it reached Womack's apartment, it saw "a suspect carrying a knife exiting Tracy's apartment."

Documents say that "the suspect" pushed the second witness down the stairs and cut the witness on the hand. When the witness got to Womack's bedroom, it found her bleeding from multiple wounds, with her pants halfway down, documents say.

Another witness told police it saw "Pinky or Piggy" exit Womack's apartment with a knife in his right hand, after a young lady ran to the second witness screaming.

Documents say that law enforcement officials have previously known Bowser to go by the nickname of "Piggy."

Bowser is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on October 7 before Judge Robert Morin.

Charging documents have been added to this post.

Mark Kenyetta Bowser Jr Arrested in Death of Tracy Womack

Megan Arellano — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 07:45:53 -0400

MPD announced Sunday that a 35-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of 39-year-old Tracy Womack.

The man, identified by police as Mark Kenyetta Bowser Jr., is suspected of second-degree murder while armed, police say.

Womack was found in the 4600 block of Benning Road Southeast at around 1:32 am on September 20.

A press release from MPD is after the jump.

Arrest Made in Homicide: 4600 Block of Benning Road, Southeast

(Washington, DC) – Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch announced an arrest has been made in the homicide which occurred in the 4600 block of Benning Road, SE. On Saturday, September 20, 2014 at approximately 1:32 am, members of the Sixth District responded to a call for stabbing. Upon arrival, they located the victim 39-year-old Tracy Womack of Southeast, DC.

On Sunday, September 21, 2014, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 35-year-old Mark Kenyetta Bowser, Jr., of Capitol Heights, MD, and charged him with Murder Two While Armed, pursuant to a District of Columbia Superior Court Arrest Warrant, in connection with the homicide of Ms. Tracy Womack.