Two women, Tiffany Taylor Gray and Audrey Miller, have been charged by police in connection with the April murder of Fasil Teklemariam, a 53-year-old Washington, D.C. resident who was hit over the head, stabbed multiple times, and had his thumb amputated.
It is claimed that his killers used his severed thumb to gain access to his bank accounts and spend his money on Uber ride-shares, marijuana, and alcohol.
After being taken into custody on July 1, Gray, 22, a resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland, was accused of first-degree murder and armed felony murder.
She is being held in Maryland at the moment, but it is anticipated that she will be extradited to Washington, D.C. to face the accusations.
Miller, 19, was detained on June 21 for first-degree murder and armed felony murder, according to court records that are accessible to the public. Miller was supposed to have a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, but according to court documents, it was canceled and postponed for July 30. Her detention is taking place in Washington, D.C.
Police have not been able to corroborate a witness’s allegation in an affidavit that they overheard Gray discussing his role in Teklemariam’s murder, claiming the victim was Gray’s “sugar daddy.”
Teklemariam’s body was not discovered in his bedroom until April 5, according to the prosecution, who claim he was killed on April 1.
According to a police affidavit, his family tried phoning him for a few days and then called the police when they were unable to get through. The victim’s phone had been going to voicemail all along. The last time one of Teklemariam’s acquaintances saw Teklemariam enter the apartment building, according to the police, was on April 1.
Later, more witnesses assisted authorities in recognizing Miller and Gray as well as other recognized people in the apartment complex.
Teklemariam had been repeatedly stabbed and struck in the head, according to the police, when they discovered him. He had lost his right thumb as well. His thumb was never discovered.
Additionally, there was proof that the apartment had been thoroughly cleaned in an attempt to eliminate any trace of the murder, but police said that this had not been successful because bloody footprint impressions and other stains were discovered at the scene after Teklemariam’s floor had been treated with a specific kind of ink.
However, authorities claimed they were able to piece Teklemariam’s murder together because of the numerous surveillance cameras in his building and the neighborhood around it. Gray and Miller were among the five suspects that the authorities have identified, according to an affidavit.
Three additional Black males are the suspects; as of Tuesday, only one of them—a 34-year-old guy whom Gray is said to have referred to as her “play brother”—has been positively identified by authorities.
The phrase is usually used to refer to someone who is familiar but not biologically related.
As of as now, no charges have been brought against the other suspects.
Video footage from Teklemariam’s apartment on Peabody Street in Washington, D.C., revealed that on April 1, he voluntarily brought Miller inside after meeting her outside.
In a similar vein, further security video from that same evening seems to capture Gray and her “play brother” pulling up outside Teklemariam’s building before they finally go inside.
Police claimed that a resident unintentionally allowed them entry.
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Other video, according to the police, unequivocally depicts the woman and the other suspects entering Teklemariam’s flat after the time frame that leads them to assume he was murdered.
Using Teklemariam’s key fob, Gray and two of the unidentified individuals gained entrance to the residence from April 1 until around April 5. According to the police, additional evidence indicates that they might have been operating his Toyota RAV4 as they were removing their plunder.
Two days after the murder, according to the police, the suspects at last began to appear at Teklemariam’s building wearing face masks or other facial coverings.
According to an affidavit, witnesses assisted authorities in identifying not only the women but also the bags that they so obscenely took out of the deceased man’s residence.
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A witness came forward to inform authorities three weeks after Teklemariam’s death, identifying the women and stating that they had “cut the decedent’s finger off.”
According to one witness, Teklemariam was Gray’s “sugar daddy” and she went by the identity “Taylor Greene.”
The witness said they “overheard” Gray discussing police reports of the murder with her “play brother” and that Gray also mentioned Teklemariam being stabbed. The witness also claimed to have been shocked by how quickly the authorities learned of the murder.
The same witness verified that Teklemariam used her thumb to access money from Gray’s accounts and that she utilized the money to purchase Uber rides in addition to “weed and alcohol.”
When investigators discovered that Teklemariam had filed a police report only a year prior, accusing Gray of using his iPhone to steal $1,800 using one of his currency applications, the case became much more complicated.
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