Defendant ‘Orchestrated’ Boyfriend’s Murder, Prosecution Says

By D.C. Witness Staff - May 10, 2019
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects |

During closing arguments in a murder trial, the prosecution said a defendant ‘orchestrated’ the murder of her 38-year-old boyfriend.

Carmelita Henderson is charged with first-degree murder while armed for her alleged role in the death of Levi Kinte Davis on the 4200 block of East Capitol Street, NE in 2015. According to court documents, Davis and Henderson, 52, were in an intimate relationship prior to Davis’ murder.

“She set him up. He died in her car, outside her apartment in her parking lot,” the prosecutor said. “She made sure she was there to watch it go down.”

The prosecution said multiple witnesses testified about Henderson’s demeanor, saying she was “calm” after the shooting, refused to go back to the car and did not ask about Davis.

“She had no emotions. She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. That’s not consistent with someone who just lost her boyfriend,” the prosecution said. “Her first words after the murder were ‘it’s all good.’ She seemed more upset about her car than the man inside.”

According to the prosecution’s theory, Henderson hired two men to kill Davis because they had a “bad, hurtful relationship.” The prosecution said Davis got Henderson fired from her job in the DC Jail mailroom after he exposed their relationship to jail personnel.

“He had cost her not only her job, but a government job that came with a retirement plan,” the prosecution told the jury.

A witness testified that he was previously in a sexual relationship with Henderson and said she confided in him. The witness said Henderson told him about planning Davis’ murder.

Henderson’s defense attorney, Michael Madden, said his client was not involved in Davis’ death and said he could explain his client’s behavior after the shooting.

“She was in a daze,” Madden said. “It was apparent to everyone who testified in this case that when they looked in the car, [Davis] was not breathing.”

Madden said Henderson was also scared of blood, which explains why she didn’t go back to the car to check on him.

Madden also said Henderson had no motive to kill Davis because he was her “ticket” to getting her job back. Apparently, Davis wrote a letter to the jail denying his relationship with Henderson.

“[That witness] is the entire case. They have absolutely no case without him,” Madden said, referring to the witness who alleges Henderson confessed.

The jury began deliberating on May 7.