A domestic violence related homicide defendant accepted a plea deal before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Oct. 7.
Richard Dyson, 58, was originally charged with second-degree murder for his involvement in the death of 62-year-old Donella Bryan on April 15 on the 300 block of N Street NE. Bryan died from blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.
According to court documents, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) found Bryan’s body on April 19, inside a trash dumpster on the 1500 block of Benning Road, NE, more than a mile from the crime scene.
According to court documents, Dyson and Bryan were romantically involved previously and still lived together.
Defense attorney Wole Falodun informed the court that Dyson accepted an offer extended by prosecutors that required him to plead guilty to second-degree murder. As part of the plea agreement, the prosecution agreed to not pursue an indictment on additional charges related to the case and limit their sentence request to 24 years of imprisonment.
The prosecutor said if the case proceeded to trial the evidence would have proved that Dyson murdered Bryan by striking her in the head and suffocating her with a sock.
Dyson is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 12.
