A D.C. woman fatally stabbed her disabled father at their home Saturday night, according to police.
James Gaylor, 70, had a back injury and walked with a cane, according to his family.
According to court documents, his daughter Brittany Gaylor flagged down a D.C. police officer in the NoMa area Saturday night, saying she’d stabbed her dad. Police went to the family’s home in Shaw and found James Gaylor on the bedroom floor but still alive, charging documents say.
Shortly before he died, he identified his daughter as the person who stabbed him. He had been stabbed 17 times, police said.
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Gaylor’s family and friends are devastated.
“This is like a nightmare,” stepson Daniel Scott said. “Just even getting the call and going up there and seeing how he looked, I struggle with sleeping at night, now.”
“He was just a good guy,” neighbor Billy Bradshaw said. “We would talk literally every single day. I’m heartbroken to hear about what happened.”
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His stepson said Eugene Dunmore he was a doting grandfather who always showed up for others.
“He could be the best dad you can ever have, for a man that didn’t have any kids of his own,” he said. “Everything this man done was for his kids and his family. It wasn’t no day, no time that he did not do for or provide for us.”
James Gaylor had reported his daughter to D.C. police just last week when she walked into his bedroom holding a knife, according to court documents. He told officers she does drugs and was not in her right state of mind.
Gaylor’s stepsons say they were shocked to hear the allegations against their sister but they’re trying to show compassion.
“We’re still going to continue our relationship with her,” Scott said. “Like, that’s our sister. She needs us; she needs our support; she needs our family’s support.”
Brittany Gaylor told police her father was lying and he was the one who’d been threatening her, court documents say.
She’s charged with second-degree murder. A judge denied her bond Monday. She’s scheduled to appear in court again next week for a preliminary hearing.
James Gaylor’s stepsons say he worked as a building engineer and a drywall painter.
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