Women say they heard screams, saw body of DC man beaten to death

Two women testifying in the trial of young girls accused of beating and killing a D.C. man painted a grim picture in court Friday.

The women, who said they were roommates, told the court they heard screaming outside their apartment along Georgia Avenue NW the morning of Oct. 17, 2023 before finding 64-year-old Reggie Brown bloodied and beaten in an alleyway.

After hearing the screams, they said went out to the balcony of their apartment to investigate and saw a body lying in the alley.

One of the women said she was trained in first aid so, after calling 911, they went down to see if they could help.

“We heard screaming. … looked like they jumped him … We are right by him. He is not responding. … There is blood under his body and around his head,” one of the witnesses said in a second call to 911.

Brown’s siblings have attended the trial being held in D.C.’s juvenile court.

“Unfortunately, he passed and whatever she was able to do, it didn’t work out for him and he’s no longer with us, and it breaks my heart,” Brown’s sister Malda Brown said outside the courthouse. “What I want to say today – I thank God that those two young ladies who came forth who was able to call an ambulance to let them know there was somebody out there.”

Two girls, ages 13 and 14, who were charged with murder in the case were in court Friday. In all, five girls have been charged in connection to the beating. A man involved in the attack has still not been identified.

The attack was caught on surveillance video as well as cellphone video.

Earlier this year, a detective testified that video shows the girls walking away in a “celebratory” mood.

First, the man who would attack Brown “escorted” him across Georgia Avenue, Detective Harry Singleton previously testified. The man was wearing a blue coat.

According to what was caught on numerous cameras in the area, the man was the first person to assault Brown. He threw him against a wall and knocked him to the ground, the detective testified.

A prosecutor played several videos that showed a group of girls walking on Georgia Avenue. One girl asked the man if she could “fight him too.”

Videos show Brown managing to get up and try to get away.

The girls kicked and stomped on Brown and then left in a “celebratory” mood, cellphone video from a girl who was not charged showed, the detective said.

When officers arrived at the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue, near Rittenhouse Street, Brown was dead.

There’s no indication that Brown knew the girls, the detective testified.

Singleton described a monthslong investigation, with detectives reviewing videos frame by frame to try to identify the attackers.

Brown was described as being physically handicapped, with missing fingers on each hand and ongoing ailments.

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