WASHINGTON — Court documents are giving new details around the violent death of a 53-year-old man and the two women accused of killing him.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Fasil Teklemariam was found stabbed to death on Friday, April 5. The 53-year-old man was found dead inside an apartment in the 1300 block of Peabody Street, Northwest shortly before 11:30 p.m.
As of June 21, two women have been arrested in connection to Teklemariam's death -- 22-year-old Tiffany Taylor Gray and 19-year-old Audrey Miller.
According to court documents, Teklemariam was found dead inside a bedroom with trauma to his head and torso, and with several lacerations on his legs and right hand.
Additionally, police say his right thumb had been cut off. Autopsy results ruled that Teklemariam's thumb had been removed either close to death or afterward.
"Members of the Homicide Branch and DFS searched [Teklemariam's] apartment and as of this writing, detectives have not located the decedent's thumb, decedent's cellphone, tablet, or any other such electronic device," court documents read.
While assessing the crime scene, forensic workers determined cleaning agents had been used to try to conceal or get rid of evidence. However, by using Amido Black a forensic crime scene technician was able to find a shoe print in blood on the floor near the bed.
While investigating, detectives learned of several surveillance cameras in the area. Using images from those cameras, police narrowed down a list of suspects. That list included the two women later charged with Teklemariam's death, Gray and Miller.
In court documents, a still image shows Teklemariam and Miller walking into the apartment toward the elevator four days before he was found dead. A few hours later, Miller and others attempted to also enter the building, later gaining entry by following a resident inside.
Court documents go on to detail the suspects going into and leaving Teklemariam's apartment building several times over the next few days.
"The suspects stole several items from [Teklemariam's] resident," the court documents read. "A search of [Teklemariam's] residence showed that several electronic devices and household items were stolen."
After speaking with several witnesses, police received a tip that claimed one of the people involved was Gray and that Teklemariam was her "Sugar Daddy." During an interview, the witness also claimed that Gray was using Teklemariam's thumb to get more money from his account.
Court documents state that the witness claimed to have watched Gray pay for Uber, weed and alcohol with the use of Teklemariam's thumb.
Gray was further connected to Teklemariam, as the victim had previously filed a theft report against her after his phone went missing and noticed charges to his Cash App totaling more than $1600.
"[Teklemariam] alleged that Taylor changed his password from his Google account," the court documents read.
Detectives were able to eventually track down Gray and used surveillance cameras to connect the suspects who were seen wearing the same clothes as the people leaving Teklemariam's apartment building. In the court documents, detectives say the suspect concealed their identities while at Teklemariam's building with masks and hoods, but did not do so while in Gray's apartment building.
Additionally, officers were able to connect Miller to Gray's apartment after using an image captured by a surveillance camera to find Miller's SoundCloud account.
Gray and Miller are both being charged with first-degree felony murder while armed for Teklemariam's death. There is no word on when they will first appear in court.
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