WASHINGTON — A New Jersey man will spent more than two decades behind bars for the brutal murder of his girlfriend inside a D.C. hotel room earlier this year. William Barrett, 69, was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder while armed back in August.
According to the government's evidence, at around 7 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2024, Barrett and his girlfriend, 36-year-old Romaine Maddox, checked into the hotel to celebrate Maddox's birthday. Surveillance video showed the couple entering their room, where they spend several hours. Around 2 a.m. surveillance once again captured Maddox screaming for help from their hotel room. She was never seen alive again.
Barrett told detectives that he got into an argument with Maddox that turned physical. In a fit of rage, Barrett grabbed a ceramic toilet tank cover from the bathroom and hit Maddox over the head with it several times. The force of the strikes caused the cover to break into three pieces. Barrett then wrapped his belt around her neck and strangled her.
Afterward, Barrett went to sleep. He spent the night with Maddox's unconscious body at the foot of the bed. He woke up the next morning and left her in the room. Her body was discovered by hotel staff a few hours later.
Judge Robert Okun handed down a sentence of 25 years, followed by five years of supervised release.