Judge Rules Homicide Case Has Enough Evidence to Go to Trial

By Will Lawrence [former] - July 29, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

Despite a defense attorney’s arguments that his client acted in self-defense during a fatal stabbing in May, a DC Superior Court judge ruled that the case against his client has enough evidence to go to trial.

Aaron Kenon is charged with second-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 29-year-old Keith Frye to death on May 8. That evening, police found Frye outside a 7-Eleven convenience store on the 400 block of 8th Street, SE, suffering from a stab wound. He was pronounced dead on scene. 

On July 21, defense attorney David Akulian argued that his 43-year-old client should be released due to the limited evidence against him, saying the prosecution “would not be able to disprove” that Kenon acted in self-defense, D.C. Witness previously reported. Towards the beginning of that hearing, Judge Milton Lee commented, “this might be a pretty good self-defense case,” but he said he was “not so sure” that Kenon’s alleged use of force was reasonable, telling parties this issue is probably going to be relevant in Kenon’s upcoming preliminary hearing.

“Bringing a weapon to a fistfight wouldn’t be justifiable defense,” said Judge Michael Ryan during the July 27 preliminary hearing. “He commented on his own intent repeatedly. His intent seems quite clear.”

Judge Ryan made a finding of substantial probability.

The prosecution played surveillance footage from the 7-Eleven, which shows one man punching another in the face. The second man follows the first man off-camera and is later seen walking back in the other direction.

A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) detective assigned to the case identified the first man as Frye and the second man as Kenon. The man who the detective identified as Kenon can be seen in the video with an object dangling from his belt as he walks back into view, which the detective said was the sheath for a large knife.

The detective said Kenon admitted to stabbing Frye with a knife during his police interview, saying he carried the knife with him every day since Jan. 6, when The U.S. Capitol was attacked. The prosecution also showed photographs of three large knives found in Kenon’s home, one of which he reportedly told police was the one he used to stab Frye.

Kenon allegedly demonstrated the stabbing motion he used and told police that he stabbed Frye to get him to go away.

However, Akulian said the stabbing motion Kenon demonstrated was not consistent with the findings from the medical examination of Frye’s wound.

The detective said the doctor who examined Frye after his death said he would not have survived, even if he were stabbed in the emergency room. 

Akulian also said that police never determined what the object the MPD detective theorized was a sheath actually was. Additionally, the MPD detective said the plastic covering over the photographed knife Kenon said he used did not match the sheath from the video, nor did it match the size or shape of Frye’s wound.

Akulian argued that Kenon was acting in self-defense. He said the punch that Frye delivered to Kenon’s face, which was strong enough to knock Kenon onto his back, would have constituted aggravated assault if it had knocked him out. 

Akulian told Judge Ryan that this could be a different case with a different victim and defendant if things had gone slightly differently.

The prosecution argued that Kenon was not acting in self-defense because he followed Frye and because of his “disproportionate use of lethal force in what was a fistfight at best.”

The prosecution also claimed that, after the stabbing, Kenon made statements including, “I finished you,” and, “you f*** with me and I’ll kill you.”

Judge Ryan ruled that Kenon should remain held at DC Jail. He scheduled a felony status conference for Oct. 1.