A witness testified about the day a brutal murder occurred next door before DC Superior Court Jason Park on Nov. 18.
Julius Worthy, 39, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed, two counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a prior convict, for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing and shooting of 36-year-old Orlando Galloway on April 2, 2023, on the 200 block of 14th Street, SE. Galloway’s girlfriend was also found in the apartment suffering from multiple stab wounds, but survived.
Prosecutors called in a witness who lived on the 200 block of 14th Street, SE, with her husband during the time of the incident.
The prosecution asked the witness to describe some of her relationships with her neighbors
The woman said she only knew a few of her neighbors. One neighbor, in particular, was a man who lived with his wife on the second floor of a red brick apartment building next to her. The witness described the man as a “character,” explaining he was always noisy, hosted lots of parties, would put a boom box in his window, and yelled at random people walking by the apartment.
The witness also claimed that the man and his wife would argue a lot, and whenever they did, the witness and her husband would hear them. In fact, the witness testified that she and her husband once complained to the man about the noise. “He grew agitated and got in our faces,” the witness stated.
The witness also spoke about another man, whom she said was a “regular” in the neighborhood, and rode a red bicycle. “He would ask us for money to buy food, and we would give it to him,” the witness testified about the man with the bike. Prosecutors previously alleged the person on the bike is Worthy.
The prosecution inquired about the day of the murder and asked the witness to describe it as she remembered it.
On April 2, 2023 at approximately 5:45 p. m., the witness said she was gardening in her front yard while her husband was attending a baseball game.
The witness said at some point, the man with the red bike approached and asked her for money. “I told him I did not have any money, and he rode away,” the witness testified.
The witness’ husband came home between 6:15 and 6:30 p. m., and got on a work call. Shortly after, the witness said she heard three loud bangs coming from the apartment building next door.
“It sounded like someone pounded on the window. It startled me,” the witness testified. The witness said she thought it was her neighbor who made a lot of noise.
Shortly after hearing the three loud bangs, the witness said she heard a man and a woman arguing. She did not think it was her neighbor who made a lot of noise and his wife because they had “distinct voices.”
The witness testified, “I then heard a man’s voice scream, ‘For the love of God, somebody help me!’ and then it got quiet.”
The witness said she did not call 9-1-1 because she thought it could have been her neighbor just being noisy. “We were not sure if it was the right decision,” she said.
Around 7:15 p. m., the witness saw her neighbor who made a lot of noise and his wife dropped off at their apartment building. The witness then knew it was not the couple she heard arguing earlier.
“They entered their apartment, and immediately after, I heard loud screams,” the witness stated.
The witness said lots of police arrived and started to cordon off the apartment building.
During cross-examination, Worthy’s defense attorney, Michael Bruckheim, asked the witness if she had encountered the man on the red bike after he asked her for money. The witness said she did not encounter him.
Prosecutors brought to the stand the medical examiner who performed the autopsy of Galloway. The examiner testified that Galloway suffered from seven stab wounds, six gunshot wounds, and “extensive” blunt force injuries including contusions, lacerations, and abrasions spanning over his entire face.
According to the examiner, particularly detrimental were two stab wounds in Galloway’s neck that each penetrated the carotid artery and jugular vein.
The examiner also explained that Galloway was shot in the left hip and groin, which each resulted in swelling and hemorrhaging.
Through her examination, the examiner concluded that the cause of death was a combination of multiple gunshot wounds, sharp force injuries, and blunt force wounds. None of the injuries could be isolated as the single cause of death. The manner of death was determined to be homicide.
A former member of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Digital Evidence Unit (DEU) was then called to testify on digital extractions he performed on the iPhone the prosecutors alleged was Worthy’s.
The expert performed a full file system extraction on the iPhone, which involved the full content of the iPhone being extracted using a forensic tool. This data included information such as contacts and text messages.
A series of text messages was highlighted by the prosecutor, including an interaction between the owner of the iPhone and another person.
“I killed two people,” said the owner of the iPhone.
Seemingly confused by the sudden claim, the other person responded saying, “Julius, what the hell do you mean you killed two people?”
In response, the owner of the iPhone said, “Yes, they stole from me today.”
“Julius, I can’t do this with you, I cannot,” responded the other person.
“I was just tryna get rich,” said the owner of the iPhone.
During the cross-examination, Worthy’s attorney, Steven Ogilvie, attempted to challenge the accuracy of the data extraction.
Ogilvie questioned the expert about how the data extraction was verified, to which the expert explained that number values unique to the file were cross-referenced with forensic tools to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data. The expert had no concern that the information extracted was at all corrupted.
Parties are slated to reconvene on Nov. 19.
