Prosecutors Call 9 Witnesses During Day 4 of Murder Trial

By Alisha Budhwani [former] - April 4, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

Nine witnesses, including civilians, members of law enforcement and forensic specialists, testified during the fourth day of a murder trial.

Marquette Jordan, 30, is charged with first-degree murder while armed for allegedly stabbing 40-year-old Ivan Lynch on April 30, 2018. The homicide took place in an apartment on the 900 block of 5th Street, SE.

The March 31 proceedings started with defense attorney Elliot Queen continuing his cross-examination of a witness who knew Jordan and Lynch for years and called 911 on the day of the homicide.

This witness said he saw Jordan swing a butcher knife at Lynch, but never saw the knife go through Lynch’s body. He asked Jordan to leave the apartment and waited approximately 10 minutes before calling 911 because he “didn’t know what he might do next.” The witness said the two have fought in the past and remained friends, but this time he “didn’t think it was going to be that serious.” 

The witness claimed to have seen Jordan go through Lynch’s pockets and take a pair of keys. A member of the Department of Forensic Sciences photographed Lynch’s clothing, which included a gray sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, a black t-shirt and a white tank top. Some of the clothing appeared to have blood on it. The sweatpants and sweatshirt had cuts on them. A cushion was found in an elevator lobby and a scarf was found in a hallway.

Prosecutors called three other DFS members who worked with physical and digital evidence in the case to the witness stand during the day’s proceedings. Next, they called an investigator with the Metropolitan Police Department’s homicide branch, who spoke about the events of April 30, 2018- the day Jordan was arrested.

The investigator testified that she saw an individual with two children at approximately 2:40 a.m. that day. She thought nothing of it until she received instructions over the radio to be on the lookout for an individual matching the description of the man she just saw, who turned out to be Jordan.

After turning around and coming closer to Jordan, the investigator noticed blood on his pants. Jordan was detained and the children, who she said were approximately two and four years old, were taken to Child and Family Services because they were not Jordan’s.

Jordan was not found to have any weapons on him. The investigator canvassed the area and a K9 unit was called in, but still no weapons were recovered.

During cross-examination, Queen asked the investigator how Jordan conducted himself around her. The investigator said he was not running, nor did he try to hide or elude her. During re-direct, she said Jordan gave her a fake name.

A detective with the MPD’s homicide branch took the stand and testified that he collected Jordan’s belongings after he was taken into custody and found some items that did not belong to him, including a pair of keys to a Dodge. Lynch’s sister confirmed that her brother owned a Dodge Durango when she was called to the witness stand.

Lynch’s father, who was the seventh person to testify during the day’s proceedings, said he received a package containing a wallet in the mail, which he turned over to detectives. During cross-examination, he said he did not know where the package came from or who sent it, but an elementary school was written on the top left corner.

Lynch’s sister and father saw the victim the day before he died. A barbecue took place that day for his birthday. The sister said his friends were there and that “Ivan was happy and excited, very jovial.”

The sister said she never heard Jordan’s name until after the homicide, nor had she met the individual who came to her home to offer information on her brother’s death. This witness reportedly told Lynch’s sister that someone known as “Quack” committed the stabbing.

“She was falling apart,” the sister said of the other witness. “Like she hadn’t slept. She looked like a hot mess.”

The trial is scheduled to resume on April 4.