The prosecution continued their case against a fatal stabbing defendant in a jury trial before DC Superior Court Judge Neal Kravitz on Aug. 3
Vanessa Bonaparte, 34, is charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed and destruction of property that is worth $1,000 or more. The charges stem from a June 22, 2024 incident in which Bonaparte allegedly stabbed 31-year-old Dwayne Boyd with two kitchen knives on the 3500 block of East Capitol Street, SE. Boyd sustained two stab wounds.
A transcriptionist from the DC Office of Unified Communications (OUC), who provides 911 calls and communication records to different agencies, detailed providing the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) with radio and call records about an incident.
The transcriptionist said after searching specific parameters, location, date, and time of the call, she was only able to locate one call made at 7:54 pm on June 22, 2024 from the East Capitol Street, SE address.
A witness that called 911 after she “heard people arguing in the hallway” took the stand. The neighbor, who lived a floor above the unit where Boyd was stabbed, said she called police believing that homeless people were arguing, who would often enter the building.
A video played by the prosecution depicted the neighbor meeting with officers upon them entering the building and leading them into the apartment where the stabbing occurred.
The neighbor said she did not know there was a stabbing when she first called police or when they arrived and did not witness the incident.
The prosecution also presented the testimony of criminal investigator from the Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS). The analyst testified about processing the crime scene in the apartment, describing blood swabs he collected from multiple locations, including the hallways, east bedroom, and area near the bedroom door.
The witness described over a hundred photos he took at the crime scene, which included images of Boyd’s body in the east bedroom. DFS found and catalogued a five dollar bill in Boyd’s pockets.
According to the witness, investigators also found multiple broken windows throughout the apartment, a handprint and foodprint from suspected blood, and multiple suspected blood stains throughout the apartment.
The prosecution displayed one photo of the kitchen floor that depicted packaging for four knives with two knives still in the package.
The investigator showed the jury evidence bags he had marked and sealed that contained swabs of suspected blood and other pieces of evidence including the knife set. He also detailed the recovery of 28 latent fingerprint lift cards, largely gathered from the west bedroom window pane, in addition to physical items including a rock, two slippers, and bedroom knob.
In regards to the rock recovered from the west bedroom floor, the scientist stated that it was not swabbed for DNA or dusted for fingerprints, explaining that it was preserved intact so it could be processed later using improved methods.
He also testified that a black stick visible in a photo from the kitchen was not swabbed or dusted, and that bags found in the living room were searched but not photographed.
The scientist said these items were not processed because lead detective from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) had not directed him to do so, and confirmed that DFS personnel typically act on a detective’s instructions at crime scenes.
The witness stated he could not confirm whether another MPD detective later took over as lead detective.
A second investigator from DFS, who responded to the scene as acting supervisor alongside the other scientist, testified about processing two doorknobs and a knife packaging at the DFS lab.
The supervisor testified that the doorknobs, which had reddish staining consistent with suspected blood, were treated with amido black dye to enhance any developed detail, but visual inspection found no visible fingerprints.
Kevann Gardner, Bonaparte’s attorney, established that no DNA, fingerprints, or blood belonging to Bonaparte was found on the doorknobs or knives.
The trial is scheduled to resume on Aug. 4.
