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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- March 5, 2019
Court
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Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Suspects
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A murder defendant’s father testified March 5 that a suspect captured on surveillance footage from an ATM “looks like” his son.
El Hadji Alpha Madiou Toure is charged with first-degree murder while armed and first-degree sexual abuse, among other charges, for his alleged role in the death of 34-year-old Corrina Mehiel on the 600 block of 14th Street, NE in 2017. According to court documents, Toure, 30, tortured, robbed and killed Mehiel.
While Toure’s father said the suspect in one video looked like his son, when he was shown additional footage from a gas station he said it was impossible to say who the person was.
A Metropolitan Police Department detective told the jury that Toure’s stepmother identified Toure from a photo.
During cross-examination, the defense raised questions about the validity of the identification, pointing out that the detective never wrote down which photograph he used.
In addition to the identification, the owner of a used car dealership in Maryland said Toure purchased a Ford Taurus and insurance to drive the car in March of 2017. Apparently, Toure paid for the car, which was more than $1,300, in cash. According to court documents, Toure was found by police in a Ford Taurus at the time of his arrest.
According to the prosecution’s theory, Toure stole Mehiel’s credit cards and repeatedly withdrew money from her account at multiple ATM machines. They said he used the money to buy the Ford Taurus.
D.C. Witness previously reported, a forensics expert, who examined the car, said she found a pocket knife with a broken off tip in the drivers side door.
The trial is scheduled to continue on March 6.