Three teenage girls have just been charged with murder after the girls, all under the age of 13, were accused of beating a disabled older man to death last autumn.
According to NBC Washington, a 12-year-old and two 13-year-old girls were charged in connection with an October 2023 fatal attack on 64-year-old Reggie Brown. The three young girls appeared in court in Washington, D.C., on Friday and Saturday. They were charged as juveniles for second-degree murder. All three, through their attorneys, pleaded not guilty.
In a press release by the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., detectives stated that the crime took place on Tuesday, October 17, 2023. At approximately 12:54 a.m., police officers responded to a call and found the victim “with trauma consistent with an assault.” Brown died at the scene. An autopsy report from The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death to be blunt force trauma, and it was ruled a homicide.
The hearing for the two 13 year old girls charged in the beating death of Reggie Brown lasted 4 and a half hours. Here are some takeaways. Detective Harry Singleton described Brown as being handicapped. He was missing fingers on each hand. He also suffered from other ailments. pic.twitter.com/JpJ9QMfbWH
— Paul Wagner (@paulcwagner) March 30, 2024
The Washington Post reported that the attack was caught on mobile phone footage. The clip was played during last week’s hearing on Thursday, March 28. The video clip showed a group of five girls running after Brown. While trying to escape, he tried to climb up a chain fence, but the teenagers pulled him off the wall and stomped his head into the concrete. They then pulled his pants down around his ankles, took off his belt, and then beat him with it.
As he lay on the concrete, surrounded by blood, the girls were laughing, and one of them said, “He’s leaking.”
A D.C. homicide detective, Harry Singleton, testified that Brown was disabled, with mental health issues, and he had a metal plate in his head and only had two fingers on each hand. Footage from a security camera reveals that an unidentified man was seen leading Brown by his collar. He is seen throwing Brown against a wall, which causes him to fall. As Brown gets back up, Singleton states that five girls were walking nearby, witnessed the man’s actions, and one of the girls, based on interviews with at least one witness, allegedly went up to the younger man and asked him, “Can I fight him?” The man stated, “Yes.”
The girls allegedly attacked and helped kill Brown, also.
Two of the girls did not want to participate in the beating but were reportedly told if they didn’t, the younger man would shoot them.
The three are currently being held in secure detention at the city’s Youth Services Center. They are slated to make their next court appearance on Thursday, April 4.
