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By
Elizabeth Price
, Rebbeca Haghnegahdar - February 20, 2025
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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Victims
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Parties delivered closing arguments for a double homicide fire case before DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman on Feb. 19.
James Walker, 66, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter for his alleged involvement in a fire that caused the deaths of 40-year-old Fitsum Kebede and nine-year-old Yafet Solomen at the 700 block of Kennedy Street, NW, on Aug. 18, 2019.
During their closing arguments, the prosecution described the property as a “death trap” and highlighted Walker’s history of code violations across multiple properties. Walker’ properties have been subject to multiple violations and failed inspections from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), starting back in 2004 and continuing until just five months before the Kennedy Street fire. He also lost another property to fire in 2010.
The prosecution referenced police bodycam footage from the day of the fire, showing officers struggling to break through a locked gate while residents screamed for help. The prosecution also displayed virtual renderings of the property’s layout, illustrating the obstacles that prevented Kebede and Solomen from escaping, emphasizing that the fire was survivable and it was Walker’s code violations that allegedly killed them.
The prosecution called it a “cage that James Walker created.”
Douglas Evans, Walker’s attorney, urged the jury to “deliberate with your focus on justice.” Evans asserted that “it was not the gate that kept them [Kebede and Solomen] from safety, it was the fire.” The victims were found 12 feet from the interior gate, with Evans citing that there are “too many variables” to convict Walker.
During their rebuttal, the prosecution insisted that the cause of the fire does not matter, as “this is the real world, bad things happen.” They highlighted Walker’s 26 housing code violations, asserting that this was “an avoidable tragedy” as a result of “choices that he [Walker] made and maintained for years.”
The violations included no certificate of occupancy for tenants, only one working smoke alarm, and failure to provide emergency escapes. F
Parties are stated to reconvene when the jury reaches a verdict.