A detective testified regarding his involvement in the investigation of a domestic violence homicide before DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman on April 24.
Josiah Garrison, 26, is charged with second-degree murder while armed for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of his wife, 25-year-old Taeje Butler, on April 9 inside their apartment on the 3500 block of 6th Street, SE.
During the hearing, prosecutors called on a detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), who assisted with the investigation. He testified that officers responded to the scene for the report of a shooting.
Body-worn camera footage shows that when officers arrived, Garrison, who was still in the apartment, opened the door for them. “Is anyone shot in there,” an officer could be heard asking Garrison as he got on the ground to be taken into custody. “Yes,” Garrison said.
In the same video, an officer asked Garrison where the gun was, to which Garrison allegedly replied “I panicked, sir, and threw it in the dumpster.” Surveillance footage captured Garrison allegedly taking the gun to the dumpster in a white trash bag, moments after the shooting. Garrison also told officers his five children were in the apartment.
According to the detective, Butler sustained a gunshot to the left side of the neck, which exited through the top right of her head and killed her instantly. An affidavit authored by the detective, and adopted as part of his testimony, stated that Garrison’s four-year-old child told MPD officers “Daddy had been playing scary movie games… daddy went to the closet, and got the gun and then boom.”
The document also stated the four-year old said Garrison allegedly put the gun to Butler’s neck, pushed the trigger and went boom.
However, Christen Phillips, Garrison’s attorney, argued “a four-year-old is not capable of understanding the whole picture, and providing a cohesive story.” She insisted that Garrison’s claim that the gun was fired during a struggle made the most sense due to Butler’s injuries.
In an interview with MPD, Garrison told the detective that Butler had been having mental health issues in the months leading up to her death. According to Garrison, “she was FD12,” which is an involuntary hospitalization for individuals who are believed to be a risk to themselves and others.
During the interview, Garrison stated that on the day of the incident, Butler had accused him of infidelity, and told him “I’ll take you and that b**** out.” He also told the detective Butler went to the closet where they keep their “protection,” provoking a struggle over the gun during which it was fired.
According to Phillips, the gunshot was “not the type of shot anyone makes when they want to kill someone,” insisting that evidence corroborates Garrison’s claim that the gun was fired during a struggle due to the angle in which the bullet struck Butler.
She also argued that Butler’s “erratic behavior makes a struggle where the gun was fired very possible,” adding it was “entirely understandable that [Garrison] would be in full blown panic mode.”
Phillips argued his recollection was accurate, citing past incidents for which MPD had to respond to Garrison and Butler’s home ostensibly due to her mental illness. According to Phillips, on March 8, MPD responded to their residence after Garrison called for help due to Butler being “aggressive, violent, and confrontational.”
According to Phillips, Butler was taken to an involuntary hospitalization because officers believed she was responding to hallucinations, explaining officers witnessed her attempting to speak to people who were not at the apartment.
In body-worn camera footage of the incident, Garrison was heard telling officers he couldn’t work because he was afraid for his children’s well-being.
Phillips also claimed that on March 16, officers responded again to the residence for a “family disturbance,” during which Garrison was given the phone number for the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) to seek treatment for Butler.
Prosecutors questioned the detective’s knowledge regarding a Prince George’s County case in 2018, in which Garrison was allegedly arrested for assaulting his father.
Phillips urged Judge Edelman to not find probable cause, arguing there was no evidence that Garrison intended to kill or acted with disregard for Butler’s well-being during the incident.
However, the prosecution insisted Garrison acted in “reckless disregard,” despite knowing of her mental illnesses. The prosecution claimed Garrison told officers on March 8 that Butler did not have access to firearms in the home, despite the gun being in the closet.
Prosecutors also insisted the gun couldn’t have been fired during a struggle because the medical examiner stated there was no stippling on the gunshot injury, which means the gun was fired from at least three feet away.
Due to time constraints, Judge Edelman was unable to make a ruling on probable cause and detention.
Parties are slated to reconvene April 29.
