A homicide defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges in the fatal shooting of his mentally impaired wife before DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park on Feb. 2.
Josiah Garrison, 27, is charged with second-degree murder while armed and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of his spouse, 25-year-old Taeje Butler. The incident occurred on April 9, 2025, on the 3500 block of 6th Street, SE.
Christen Philips, Garrison’s defense attorney, alerted the court that Garrison intended to plead not guilty to all charges, and asserted his constitutional rights.
According to a 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 Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers “Daddy had been playing scary movie games… daddy went to the closet, and got the gun and then boom.”
According to Garrison, Butler had been having severe mental mental health issues before the shooting.
The defense previously requested the charges be dismissed because the prosecution filed the indictment a week late. Judge Park denied the request and moved forward with the arraignment.
Phillips requested Judge Park dismiss the home confinement requirement for Garrison’s release conditions, asking for a curfew to be imposed in order to find a job. He was originally ordered to home confinement with GPS monitoring, a case which Judge Park described as “exceedingly rare.”
Garrison was around 20 minutes late to the hearing, which may be an issue if it happens again, according to Judge Park. The prosecutor opposed the change in release conditions and said Garrison had been late to multiple hearings.
Garrison has been reporting to his case manager from the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) monthly as required and has been compliant with all conditions since July, the agency confirmed.
Judge Park granted the request, imposing a 10 p. m.-to6-a. m. curfew and said PSA would need to approve any deviation from that time frame. Garrison will also remain on GPS monitoring.
Parties are scheduled to reconvene Aug. 14.
