Parties Question Victims’ Mothers During Triple Homicide Trial

By Ashley Brown [former] - October 26, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Shooting | Suspects | Victims |

A triple homicide trial resumed with seven witnesses, including four officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and three of the victims’ mothers, were summoned to testify before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan and a jury.

Rakeem Willis, 31, and Jonathan Winston, 33, are both charged with three counts of first-degree murder while armed, one count of conspiracy, three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, and one count of fleeing from a law enforcement officer in connection to the shootings of 26-year-old Sean Shuler, 26-year-old Javon Abney, and 24-year-old Tyrik Hagood. The fatal shooting occurred on Jan. 26, 2019, on the 1500 block of Fort Davis Place, SE.

During the Oct. 25 trial, the prosecution displayed body-worn camera footage from two MPD officers who responded to the scene.

The video depicts the bloody and lifeless body of one of the victims who is believed to have been dragged into the street, while the other dead victims were found in a Toyota Camry parked up the road.

Winston’s defense attorney, Kevin Irving, and Willis’ defense attorney, Howard McEachern cross-examined the witnesses from the MPD who responded to the scene to reveal steps in the investigation with potential civilian witnesses and to identify the location of the dead bodies on a map.

The prosecution also called in Shuler, Abney, and Hagood’s mothers who expressed their grief and struggles in the aftermath of their sons’ murders. Each of the men left behind children who have also experienced heartbreak and hardship since their fathers’ absences, the mothers told the jury.

Judge Ryan scheduled the trial to continue on Oct. 26.