Thank you for reading D.C. Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.
By
Adriana Marroquin
- December 13, 2024
Daily Stories
|
Homicides
|
stabbing
|
Suspects
|
Victims
|
DC Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan sentenced a homicide defendant to 20 years of imprisonment on Dec. 13.
On May 29, Daniel Fleetwood, 30, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed for his involvement in the fatal beating, strangulation and stabbing of 26-year-old Shana Donahue on May 28, 2020, on the 2900 block of N Street, SE.
Through the deal, parties had agreed to a sentencing range of 20-to-24 years of imprisonment.
At the hearing, Judge Raffinan assured Fleetwood understood that through his plea agreement, he was waiving his right to claim an insanity defense. According to David Knight, Fleetwood’s attorney, there is evidence that Fleetwood was in a psychotic state during the incident.
“This has been a long time coming… losing her has been an ordeal no mother should go through,” Donahue’s mother said at the sentencing as she urged Judge Raffinan to impose the maximum sentence possible.
“She was my best accomplishment,” Donahue’s mother added, insisting “no one deserves to leave this world that way… she fought and advocated for so many people,” as she reminisced about Donahue’s time as a DC public school teacher.
“[Fleetwood] doesn’t know how many people he affected with the brutal murder of my daughter,” Donahue’s father stated.
He told Judge Raffinan he had spoken to Fleetwood three days before he killed Donahue, after learning the couple had decided to give their relationship a second chance following a year-long break. His message to Fleetwood was that if things didn’t work out between them “don’t mess up her life and don’t mess yours.”
He pleaded with Judge Raffinan to take away Fleetwood’s freedom.
Multiple family members discussed the impact Donahue had in the community, mentioning her mentorship and her desire to help Black women love their hair through her Youtube channel.
“She had so much life ahead of her…” Donahue’s step-sister told Judge Raffinan, adding she “[doesn’t] understand how someone could pretend to love someone the way Daniel pretended.”
The prosecution deemed the nature of the offense “shocking and brutal,” stating that after Fleetwood tortured Donahue he left her there to die.
“This wasn’t a stranger – it was someone she loved and trusted,” the prosecutor argued, explaining that neighbors who heard the incident occur described it as an “extended disturbance.”
“Despite doing everything right in her life, she chose the wrong person,” the prosecutor said, adding that “this was certainly a senseless, savage, tragic, escalation.”
Knight deemed the incident “chaotic, wild, illogical and erratic,” stating that Fleetwood’s state of mind left him believing Donahue was alive months after the murder.
“This is not someone who clearly understood what he had done,” Knight argued, asking Judge Raffinan to impose the most lenient sentence.
“I want to start by apologizing…” Fleetwood told Judge Raffinan, stating he doesn’t understand why he did what he did.
“I failed as a lover, provider, and father,” Fleetwood cried, claiming that “Shana was the light of my life… I will always love you Shana, now and forever.”
“No one comes out of here a winner. There’s a whole lot of loss and a whole lot of trauma and tragedy,” Judge Raffinan stated as she imposed the 20 year sentence with five years of supervised release. She ordered Fleetwood to seek and accept treatment and counseling for his mental health issues while incarcerated.
No further dates were set.