Parties delivered opening statements in a homicide trial before DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan on Nov. 4.
Tywan Morris, 30, is charged with second-degree murder while armed, carrying a dangerous weapon outside a home or business, and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon for his alleged involvement in the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old Danielle Stuckey, on Oct. 17, 2021, at the 2800 block of Alabama Avenue, SE. The victim suffered a fatal stab wound to her thigh, where her femoral artery was severed.
The prosecution opened stating that the jury was there not only for a woman’s murder but also the defendant’s alleged involvement in influencing a key witness.
On the day of the incident, the victim and her eldest son left their residence and went to the Safeway off of Alabama Avenue, SE. After exiting the store the two headed to a bus stop that was directly in front of the BP gas station, claimed prosecutors. While at the bus stop Morris pulled into the gas station.with his girlfriend and their infant son.
According to the prosecution, Stuckey saw that the defendant had arrived at the gas station and walked over to his vehicle. Prosecutors acknowledged that at the time of the incident the victim’s blood alcohol level (BAC) was over the legal limit.
The prosecution stated that surveillance footage depicts their conversation escalating into an argument, however, the victim was seen walking back to the bus stop, where her son was.
Video surveillance showed another vehicle pulled into the gas station, during the period in which the defendant and victim were arguing, according to the prosecution. The driver of the vehicle and the passenger are both witnesses in the case.
Prosecutors alleged that the individual in the passenger seat had a conversation with the defendant where Morris asked, “Do you got that?” In response, the passenger gave the defendant a knife. Once he had the weapon, Morris walked back over to his car, gave the weapon to his girlfriend, and they both headed towards the bus stop where the victim was with her son, claimed the prosecution.
As the two approached the defendant’s girlfriend took “a couple swipes” at the victim with the knife, as seen on video surveillance from the bus stop. The opening prosecutor argued that the victim’s son tried to protect his mom, but the defendant took the knife and charged the victim. On security video the victim can be seen backpedaling and the defendant allegedly kicks at her, tripping her. As she is on the ground Morris can be seen kicking at her head then stabbing her and fleeing the scene, alleged the prosecution.
“He ran her down, tripped her, and while she was lying on the ground helpless, he he thrust a knife Into Her,’ said the prosecutor.
On Oct. 31, 2023 one of the prosecutors received an email from a witness alleging that the defendant had offered her a sum of money to not appear in court to testify.
Defense attorney Steven Kiersh stated that in order for Morris to be found guilty of second degree murder there must be no mitigating circumstances, factors that can lessen the severity of an action. Attorney Kiersh argued that there were multiple mitigating factors, one of which was a prior incident involving the victim.
On July 18, 2021, a woman filed a police report allegeding that following an argument with the victim she was shoved to the ground and assaulted in a laundromat. He also cited her blood alcohol level and the fact that she was arguing with the defendant while his girlfriend and their infant son were in the car right next to them.
The prosecution called an eyewitness who was the driver of the vehicle in which the passenger gave the defendant the knife, and was offered a sum of money to not come to court to testify.
On the day of the incident she stated that she drove to the BP gas station with the other witness. She was sitting in the car playing games on her phone when she heard a man and a woman arguing. She stated she did not know the woman, but she recognized the man because the other witness in the car knew him and she had seen him before.
The man in the argument came over to the passenger side door and started talking to the witness in the passenger seat, according to the witness. She stated that she heard the man say, “Do you got that”, and the passenger pulled out what she described to be “something sharp, it looked like a knife”, and gave it to the man outside the car.
When asked if she saw anyone with a weapon that day she stated no. She also said that she left the gas station because she did not feel safe, and that she and the passenger never discussed what happened that day.
Prosecutors asked why she emailed a member of the team on Oct. 31, 2023. She said that she had received a Facebook message from the passenger in the car that day to call her. She alleged that on that call he stated that he ran into Chucky, the defendant, and that there was a “recording of her”. He went on to say that Morris was offering to pay her an undisclosed sum of money to not come to court.
Kiersh emphasized that she did not personally get the message from the defendant, but that all messages about paying her had come through the passenger.
The prosecution clarified that she had emailed them immediately after receiving the message because she feared for her life.
Under cross examination, Kiersh asked if she was able to recognize the man in a still photo taken from the BP gas station’s cameras. The witness asked to zoom in on the man, but could not tell who the man was. When prompted by the defense, the witness said she supposed the man must have been Morris, as he was the only man around. She also was unable to recall if the man in the photograph is the man who came up to the passenger in the car with her.
Prosecutors called the father of the victim’s two youngest children to the stand. On the day of the incident he was at the victim’s apartment with all three of the children and the victim. He said that she left with the eldest to go to the Safeway off of Alabama Avenue, SE to get groceries for dinner.
Around 6pm he received a call from the victim’s oldest child telling him that his mother was hurt, she was stabbed. When asked if he told the witness who stabbed his mother, he said Chucky. The witness stated that he knew Chucky, Tywan Morris, because they grew up in the same neighborhood.
He was asked if he learned about who was in the car with the defendant at the time of the incident, he said he did. When prompted about the nature of his “history” with the individual in the car he said they had a sexual relationship.
He said that he knew how the victim felt about this individual and that she was upset with him. He stated that the victim learned about the two individuals’ relationship a year before the incident occurred.
In cross examination by the defense he was asked what he did after the victim found out about the relationship. He said that he stopped talking to the individual and stopped going around the area where she lived.
Several experts and MPD officers testified throughout the afternoon. An officer with the electronic surveillance unit confirmed that he pulled the footage that was shown in court from the cameras at the BP gas station.
This was the same footage used to create several compilations of the incident. He explained how he stitched the videos together, playing some at the same time to create a better perspective of what happened leading up to the incident. He had added text in the video if he altered it in any way, either by enlarging the video or by panning to keep focus on certain individuals.
Several Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers were called to the stand.
One officer testified that on the day of the incident he was on patrol when he received a radio call that there was a woman down in the area.
His body-worn camera footage was played. The victim could be seen lying in a pool of her own blood, trying to sit up while swaying half-conscious. The officer testified that he called for EMS before arriving on scene and applied a tourniquet to the victim’s upper thigh to try and stop the bleeding.
Another officer was part of the team that looked for the green Nissan belonging to Morris. His body-worn camera footage showed the Crime Suppression Team (CST) discovering the vehicle and calling for more units.
A sergeant with the CST also testified, his bodyworn camera footage showing Morris being escorted out of his home by police.
An expert from the Department of Forensic Science (DFS) testified that she had met with two detectives to collect evidence in relation to the case. She took photos of those pieces of evidence and packaged them. These photos were shown in court.
The prosecution also provided her with a box that she had packaged. She opened the box and the four pieces of bagged evidence inside: a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of sweatpants, and a pair of shoes.
The lead detective in the case was also called, and will be continuing his testimony when the parties reconvene.
Parties are slated to return on Nov. 5.
