DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan detained a murder defendant who was non-compliant with the conditions of his release at a hearing on Feb. 5
William Ransford, 62, is charged with first-and-second-degree murder for his alleged involvement in the fatal strangulation and sexual assault of Debra McManus, 39, on the the 400 block of Trenton Street, SE on Oct. 23, 1993.
According to court records, Ransford was detained from his arrest on Aug. 18, 2022 until Judge Ryan released him on June 25, 2025.
At the hearing, the prosecution claimed that Ransford had not been compliant with the terms of his release. They said he failed to report that his GPS tracker was out of power and he had not taken a drug test since Dec. 23, 2025.
Court records indicate a notice of Ransford’s non-compliance was first filed on Aug. 7, 2025, less than two months after his release.
Ransford’s attorney, Dana Paige, claimed there was a miscommunication because Ransford was supposed to be supervised by the Pretrial Services Agency’s (PSA) Specialized Supervision Team (SST), but was not. According to Paige, Ransford could not be on GPS monitoring and simultaneously supervised by SST, which they were unaware of.
Additionally, Paige wanted Judge Ryan to consider Randsford’s cognitive decline.
Judge Ryan said Ransford’s cognitive deficit wasn’t obvious, but his non-compliance with the terms of his release was. Therefore, the judge revoked Ransford’s release and recommended that he be held at the Central Treatment Facility (CTF) and complete a drug program.
The parties are set to reconvene April 17.
