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By
D.C. Witness Staff
- September 17, 2019
Court
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Homicides
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A defense counselor focused on the credibility of a victim’s mother and sister during opening statements in a murder trial on Sept. 16.
James Embre is charged with felony murder, first-degree cruelty to children and second-degree cruelty to children for his alleged role in the death of two-year-old Aceyson Aizim Ahmad on the 3400 block of A Street, SE on April 17. According to court documents, Embre, 33, was involved in a romantic relationship with Ahmad’s mother.
Defense attorney, Johnathan Zucker, said Ahmad’s sister, who is the only eyewitness to the murder, is known for not telling the truth. Zucker also said Ahmad’s sister and mother had been violent towards Ahmad in the past.
In addition, Ahmad’s sister changed her story multiple times when talking to her mother and the police, the defense lawyer said. Apparently, she first told police that Ahmad fell off the bed. Then, seconds after, she said that Embre punched Ahmad in the stomach and later said he actually punched him in the back.
“People who commit child abuse almost always were abused themselves as a child,” Zucker said, referring to Ahmad’s mother’s childhood. Zucker also said that Ahmad’s mother told police, on the night of the incident, that she “whipped their butts” with an electric cord as punishment.
Apparently, a medical examiner, who will testify later in the trial, discovered there were 20 plus prior fractures to the victim’s rib cage.
Ahmad’s godmother, who was a main caregiver for Ahmad, told the jury that she did not notice any marks on the boy when she dropped him off at school that morning.
According to paperwork from the daycare, there were two instances where Ahmad arrived with a black eye and a burn on the top of his foot.
The godmother said Ahmad’s mother told her that the burn could have been a cigarette burn that Ahmad got from one of her cigarettes. Ahmad’s mother also told the godmother that the black eye occurred from Ahmad’s sister hitting him with a truck.
Another defense attorney, Kristin McGough, asked the godmother about a statement she told police about the victim’s sister playing too rough. Even though the godmother denied accusing Ahmad’s sister of the death, she did acknowledge that she made the statement.
According to the prosecution, Embre was guilty because the sister said she saw him hit the child.