WASHINGTON — The trial of five young girls accused of beating a D.C. man to death in 2023 continued Wednesday.
Reggie Brown's body was found in an alley near the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue NW on October 17, 2023. Police say the 64-year-old was found brutally beaten, with cuts and bruises on his head. Five girls, aged 12 to 15 years old at the time, are accused of killing Brown and now face multiple charges including second-degree murder.
A DC Police detective who covered Brown's death investigation testified Tuesday. He explained that he interviewed one of the 13-year-old suspects less than a month after Brown's death. However, the interview happened before police knew the girl was reportedly involved.
Defense lawyers for one of the 13-year-old girls accused of killing Reggie Brown brought in a psychologist who specializes in police interrogation of juveniles to testify on the second day of motion hearings. The defense alleged that because the 13-year-old was not a suspect, nor was she in police custody at the time of her questioning, anything she said during the interview should be considered an involuntary statement.
WUSA9 spoke to one of Brown's sisters after Wednesday's hearing. She says her feelings haven't changed since Tuesday.
"My brother lived his life freely," said Nasia Israel solemnly. "He didn't bother anybody. They didn't know him. He didn't do anything to them. There wasn't no reason for them to brutally murder him. He still had a whole lot of life left."
Brown's sister and niece say they plan to be at all of the court proceedings, including Thursday when the DC Police detective is expected to testify again about exactly what happened the night of Brown's murder.