WASHINGTON — A woman is being held without bond in D.C. jail facing murder charges after police say she crashed a car she stole from outside a hospital emergency room as another woman was waiting for help inside the vehicle.
Court documents obtained by WUSA9 shed new light on what happened before, during, and after 22-year-old Kayla Kenisha Brown reportedly stole the car with 55-year-old Leslie Marie Gaines inside.
While the car was reportedly stolen at 1:11 p.m. Monday, court documents show the events began unfolding just after 11:45 a.m. when officers received a 911 call from a woman screaming and asking for help before the line disconnected.
Officers went to the apartment where the call was placed and found Brown and her parents. According to court documents, Brown's mother told officers her daughter had gone out with a man she met on Instagram and got "some sort of drug." The suspect's father then indicated that Brown had been "acting crazy" for about three days.
Upon checking her vitals, EMTs said Brown's blood pressure and heart rate were much too high for her age and took her to Washington Hospital Center around 12:40 p.m. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance with an officer accompanying her.
Photos in the court documents show Brown wearing a brown lounge suit and yellow Crocs while strapped to a gurney.
Around the same time officers were called to Brown's home, court documents say another woman was picking up her mother, Leslie Marie Gaines, from physical therapy at the Washington Hospital Rehab Center in Northwest D.C. While picking her mom up, the woman told police she overheard someone say "hope you feel better," causing the daughter to question her mother's well-being.
According to court documents, Gaines said she had blurred vision and could not feel her legs, causing the daughter to call 911 at 12:18 p.m. to ask for help. DC Fire and EMS arrived and checked Gaines's vitals, which her daughter said appeared normal.
DC Fire and EMS reportedly offered an ambulance ride to the hospital but the daughter refused since they were already at the hospital complex. Court documents say she asked for help placing her mother in the front passenger seat.
After driving to the emergency room entrance, the daughter left Gaines alone inside the still-running vehicle while she went to ask for help getting her mom out of the car.
Once inside the hospital, court documents say a nurse advised the daughter that someone with a requested wheelchair would be out to help her shortly. While waiting, the daughter looked in the direction of her parked car only to see it wasn't there anymore and neither was her mother.
"A security guard advised the daughter that 'I thought she was with you' when the vehicle drove from the driveway of the emergency entrance," court documents read.
After talking to the security guard, the daughter called 911, for a second time that day, to report her car stolen and her mother missing.
MPD officers arrived at 1:11 p.m. to investigate the reported carjacking. While investigating, officers say security footage captured Brown approaching the daughter's Mazda on the driver's side before the car left the hospital.
Less than 30 minutes later, at 1:37 p.m. an MPD captain in a marked MPDC car had just turned right onto 6th Street, NW when he reportedly heard "the sound of screeching tires." Court documents say the captain then noticed the stolen Mazda speeding and watched as the car crashed into the building that houses the United States Attorney's Office.
The captain went to help whoever was inside the crashed vehicle when court documents state that the driver got out and tried to run away with the keys still in her hand. The woman, later identified as Brown, was arrested and taken to George Washington Hospital.
After taking Brown into custody, the MPD captain noticed another woman in the car. Court documents say Gaines was unconscious and unresponsive. The captain pulled her from the car to help provide first aid but Gaines died at 2:38 p.m. at George Washington Hospital.
Brown has since been charged with felony murder, kidnapping, and unarmed carjacking.
During Brown's bond hearing Tuesday, her defense lawyer argued that her client cannot be charged with carjacking because the Mazda SUV was not taken by force. Court documents indicate that the car was running when Brown took off with the car. The defense also argued that Gaines might have already been deceased when the car was taken.
Throughout the proceedings, prosecutors pointed out Brown's distinct tan outfit and yellow Crocs to pin her to the theft of the car. Court documents show surveillance screenshots of Brown near the Mazda at the Washington Hospital Center and her running away from the vehicle near the site of the crash.
Gaines' family members broke down after the bond hearing. They said they had difficulty processing the argument that there was no carjacking involved. One woman, who told WUSA9 she was Gaines's cousin, said the 55-year-old's children and grandchildren are distraught following the tragedy. They said they would be at every court proceeding to get justice for their late cousin.
Court documents allege that when detectives tried to interview her Brown on Monday night, she refused to answer any questions and stated she just wanted to go back to the hospital.
Brown is due back in D.C. court for a preliminary hearing on Friday, Jun. 7.
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