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By
Jenna Lee
, Phoebe McConnell - October 4, 2024
Daily Stories
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Homicides
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Shooting
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Suspects
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Victims
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A witness testified that a homicide suspect was allegedly taking quizzes on his phone about murdering his best friend in a trial in front of DC Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo on Oct. 3.
Eugene Burns, 32, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of 24-year-old Onyekachi Emmanuel Osuchukwu III, on Nov. 14, 2015, on the 2900 block of Second Street, SE.
Burns was convicted of the charges in 2017, but the verdict was overturned in 2020 for an overly broad search and the DC Court of Appeals returned the case to DC Superior Court.
Along with Tyre Allen, 24, Burns is also charged with conspiracy, obstructing justice by influencing or delaying a witness or officer, and obstruction of the due administration of justice. The charges stem from their alleged attempts in 2020 to persuade and intimidate a witness into recanting testimony he gave against Burns in the original murder trial.
A witness who performed an extraction on two of Burns’ phones presented web browsing history data that allegedly showed the user visiting the site “gotoquiz.com” and the quiz “Are you capable of killing your best friend?” in the search history a week before the murder.
On cross examination from Burns’ attorney Jocelyn Wisner, the witness testified that he cannot tell how long the user was on any given site and that the website has links that can take you to different pages.
The witness also testified that hundreds of text messages and calls were deleted from both phones. He presented texts between the victim and Burns on the day of the murder showing Burns messaged Osuchukwuhe “I’m leaving the door open for you” at 8:01 p.m., approximately an hour before the murder.
A forensic pathologist from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) said there were four gunshot wounds on the victim, including one on the left cheek, left shoulder, lower left abdomen, and lower right side of the back.
The medical examiner explained the lethal gunshot wounds that traversed the victim’s body, hitting vital blood vessels and the pumping chambers of the hearts well as the bowels. Because of the vital organs involved, the pathologist testified, the gunshot wounds were not survivable.
During the cross examination, the witness explained there were no signs of bruises, cuts, or scrapes found during the autopsy, showing no signs of struggle.
Parties are set to reconvene on Oct. 7.