Christopher Lalchan | Homicide Watch DC

Dianna Lalchan Charged with First-Degree Murder While Armed in Slaying of Her Husband

Clara Pak — Sat, 23 Nov 2013 06:00:20 -0500

Dianna Lalchan pleaded innocent to two new charges brought against her in connection with the death of her husband, Christopher Lalchan.

A grand jury indicted Dianna Lalchan, 28, on charges of first-degree premeditated murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.

Lalchan was arrested and initially charged with second-degree murder, but a judge reduced that charge to voluntary manslaughter at a preliminary hearing. Lalchan has been staying with family under high supervision since May, when Judge Ronna Beck allowed her to leave a halfway house.

On Friday, Prosecutor Cynthia Wright said new evidence in the government's case against Lalchan led to Thursday's indictment. While Lalchan's attorney, Arthur Ago, argued the killing was in self-defense, the prosecutor argued that not once during the couple's five-year marriage did Dianna Lalchan call 911 or have restraining orders issued against her husband. There is also no record of an abuse case in D.C. Superior Court.

"This case is about money," Wright said. "She didn't want to pay alimony. The defendant chose money over everything else."

On the night of Christopher Lalchan's death, in the middle of an escalating argument, it was Lalchan who told her husband to go retrieve the gun and lay it on the table, Wright said.

According to forensic evidence, three shots were fired that night. "The first shot was fired into the kitchen," Wright said. "The second shot was fired into the back of her husband's head. The third shot was fired next to his head when he was on the ground."

Wright argued that because Dianna Lalchan, a pharmacist at Walter Reed Medical Center, often went to the shooting range for recreational purposes, her precision in shooting would be quite good.

On March 28, at approximately 12:05 a.m., Lalchan called 911 and said, "I shot my husband," inside their apartment in 1200 block of Fourth Street Southwest, according to charging documents.

The government requested a motion that Lalchan be held without bond. Judge Beck denied the motion because of her track record. "If you think she is a danger to the community, get your case ready for trial."

Her trial is scheduled to begin March 5, 2014.

Dianna Lalchan, Facing Voluntary Manslaughter Charges, to Leave Halfway House

Sam Pearson — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:15:35 -0400

Dianna Lalchan, who originally faced first-degree murder charges that were reduced to voluntary manslaughter while armed, will leave a halfway house Monday.

Lalchan appeared before Judge Ronna Beck Friday, who allowed her to enter the high intensity supervision program – which will allow her to stay with her family while she awaits a trial.

Police arrested Lalchan, 27, in connection with the death her husband, Christopher Lalchan, March 28. Prosecutors had sought first-degree murder charges in the case, but at a preliminary hearing Judge Robert Morin said there was probable cause only to support a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed.

Christopher Lalchan was fatally shot in his home in Southwest DC. Dianna Lalchan has said she shot him in self defense.

Lalchan would also be able to continue working as a pharmacist at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda. Lalchan has not worked there since her arrest, but has not been terminated from the position, her attorney, Arthur Ago, said. Lalchan has left the halfway house only for legal visits with her attorney, he said.

She is due to return to court July 19 for a status hearing. Another status hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4, and Judge Beck scheduled a trial date for March 3, 2014.

Comment of the Day: 'I just hope I can find closure with all of this'

Sam Pearson — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:23:19 -0400

Today’s comment of the day comes from “A Friend Who is Mourning," who left a comment about Christopher Lalchan:

I just hope I can find closure with all of this. Even as a friend of Chris' there is so much that I would like to say, but can no longer say to him now that he's gone.

We went to the same church, lived together as roommates, laugh, cried, you name it. Reading everything has been quite overwhelming. Chris will forever be in my heart and dearly missed.

"At a loss" adds:

I was Chris's boss. To say the least I am at a loss for words with everything I have read. I knew something was wrong when he did not come to work Thursday and he did not answer his phone. I never imagined this was the reason. I will continue to be in shock and will miss him dearly as he was a very dedicated bright young man with so much potential.

Police arrested Lalchan's wife, Dianna Lalchan, and charged her with first-degree murder in the case. Judge Robert Morin ordered the charge lowered to voluntary manslaughter at a preliminary hearing Wednesday. He also allowed Dianna Lalchan to stay at a halfway house while she awaits trial.

Dianna Lalchan Held in a Halfway House on Voluntary Manslaughter Charge

Penny Ray — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:57:46 -0400

Judge Robert Morin ruled Wednesday that there was probable cause to hold Dianna Lalchan, 27, at a halfway house on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of her husband, Christopher Lalchan, last week.

Prosecutors had pursued first-degree murder charges in the case. Defense attorneys argued Wednesday that the killing was in self-defense.

In making his finding of voluntary manslaughter, Judge Robert Morin said Wednesday that "even if [Dianna Lalchan] acted in self-defense, the force was excessive."

Dianna Lalchan, a pharmacist at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, was arrested last week on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with her husband's death. Police found Christopher Lalchan lying on the couple's living room floor with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

According to 911 call records, Dianna Lalchan called 911 that night. A portion of that call was played in court Wednesday.

On the recording, at the beginning of the call, Dianna Lalchan hesitates to speak. After the dispatcher obtains the address of the incident, Dianna finally says, “My husband was getting violent, and, umm...”

Lalchan paused, and the dispatcher asked where her husband was.

“On the floor,” Dianna Lalchan replied. “I shot him.”

When police arrived they found that Christopher Lalchan had suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. Two other fired bullets were recovered from the scene: one was lodged in the kitchen wall, and the other was fragmented and lodged in the floor right next to Christopher Lalchan's head, Metropolitan Police Detective Robert Cephas testified Wednesday.

Dianna Lalchan told detectives that she shot her husband as he charged at her. But a medical examiner determined that the bullet entry wound in the back of Christopher Lalchan's head had a downward angle, which was inconsistent with that description, Cephas testified.

Prosecutors believe that Christopher Lalchan may have ducked and fell when an initial shot did not strike him; then was struck by a subsequent bullet.

Dianna Lalchan told police the evening was the deadly culmination of years of domestic abuse. The abuse “started from the beginning” of their marriage, and Christopher Lalchan would often slap and choke her, she said.

“In the past it got to the point where he would strangle me,” Dianna Lalchan told detectives. “But if he wanted to kill me, I would be dead by now.”

No reports were ever filed with police.

Matthew Hanna, an investigator with the D.C. Public Defender Service, testified that he spoke with several of Dianna Lalchan's friends and colleagues, and that they all said that Dianna Lalchan had been victimized.

One of the witnesses told Hanna that Dianna Lalchan never reported the abuse because “her husband was going into politics and she didn't want anything on his record,” Hanna said.

On the evening of March 27, Christopher Lalchan called Dianna around 5 p.m. and asked her to come home so they could “talk about their marriage,” Detective Cephas said.

Dianna Lalchan told detectives that the argument lasted all evening, and at one point Christopher Lalchan picked up a bicycle and threw it across the apartment.

Moments before the shooting, Christopher Lalchan picked up a plastic mop and held it above his head like a baseball bat, Dianna Lalchan told police. They struggled over the mop for a while, but Dianna Lalchan wrestled it from him. The two argued for a few minutes more, then Dianna Lalchan told her husband that she didn't feel safe. So Christopher Lalchan retrieved a handgun from the bedroom closet and placed it on a television stand in the living room.

In the police interrogation video played in court Wednesday, Dianna Lalchan is seen telling police, “I pretend like I'm scared,” and that she “talked him into getting the gun out of the closet.”

Dianna Lalchan told police that shortly after Christopher Lalchan placed the gun on the television stand so that she would “feel safe,” he lunged at her. So she grabbed the gun and fired three shots.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Wright argued that Dianna Lalchan showed no remorse in the 911 call, and that there was no description of the violence that occurred that night given to the dispatcher.

“The government is certainly sympathetic to the battered woman syndrome,” Wright said. “But the typical things that one would hear in a domestic violence call just weren't there.”

Judge Morin scheduled a felony status conference on Judge Ronna Beck's calendar for May 10.

Judge Orders Dianna Lalchan Held for Shooting Husband, Christopher Lalchan

Penny Ray — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:31:50 -0400

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.

Dianna Yvone Lalchan Charging Documents (PDF)Dianna Yvone Lalchan Charging Documents (Text)

Dianna Yvone Lalchan Gerstein (PDF)Dianna Yvone Lalchan Gerstein (Text)

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.

SW DC Shooting Leaves Man Dead

Chris Amico — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 09:12:53 -0400

A man is dead after a shooting near Waterfront Metro, WJLA reports.

The shooting took place at 1200 4th Street SW at right after midnight. Police say the victim and the suspect were related. The victim, who was an adult male, was shot in the head.

News reports say a woman is in custody, and that she is related to the victim.

Police Alert-1D Shooting, 1206 hrs, 1200 4th Street SW, One person in custody DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVEN... 1.usa.gov/10SOPd9

— dcalerts (@dcalerts) March 28, 2013