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By
Laura Berol
- May 19, 2025
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Juveniles
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz instructed the prosecution to share the video of police interviewing a two-year-old child about the alleged murder of her grandfather by her father during a court hearing on May 16.
De’Angelo Goldston, 37, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed for allegedly shooting of his father, 61-year-old Darryl Smith, on Feb. 4 on the 1000 block of First Street, SE.
Goldston’s attorney, Kevin Mosley said the prosecution’s most important witness is Goldston’s two-year-old daughter. He asked the prosecution to give him access to the video of the police interview of the child so he can challenge its use as evidence.
Mosley said a police detective testified at Goldston’s preliminary hearing that he didn’t know where Goldston’s child was at the time of the shooting. Mosley wants to see if there is any indication from the interview whether the child saw the shooting firsthand.
Mosley said he has also heard that the child said the police shot Goldston when they arrested him. Since that’s factually incorrect, Mosley wants to challenge the child’s reliability as a witness.
Mosley asked to see the video for himself so he can learn exactly what was said and in what context, instead of being limited to isolated pieces of information shared by the prosecution.
The prosecution objected to sharing the video on the grounds that the investigation of the murder is ongoing.
“I would expect an immense amount of influence and pressure to be applied against this child,” the prosecutor said. She noted that approximately a dozen family members have written letters to the court in support of Goldston.
Mosley said there hasn’t been any evidence of undue pressure by Goldston or his family members toward the child.
Judge Kravitz told the prosecutor to provide him with the video of the interview so he can assess how appropriate it is to use the child’s testimony as evidence in the case.
“My sense is that a four-year-old is close to the lower end of what could be permitted,” Kravitz said, referring to his past experience of allowing a young child to testify at trial.
The prosecutor objected to characterizing the child as their most important witness in the case. She told the court that another family member was with Goldston, his daughter and his father before the shooting occurred.
According to the prosecutor, the family member left the apartment and returned to find Goldston’s father dead. The family member got help from the neighbors to call 911, leading to Goldston’s arrest at the scene of the incident.
Mosley said the family member was absent from the apartment for approximately 40 minutes around the time of the shooting.
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for June 27.