A man is facing charges after allegedly strangling and beating a woman to death in a D.C. hotel, and surveillance cameras captured how they entered and exited the room in the hours before the fatal attack.
Police were called to the Ivy City Hotel at around 11:30 a.m. Friday after an employee came upon a crime scene in a room on the first floor.
There, they found the body of 36-year-old Romaine Maddox, which showed trauma to her head and face, according to a police report.
The subsequent investigation’s review of video surveillance at the hotel told a tale of a bizarre night and led to the quick arrest of 59-year-old William Barret, of Northeast D.C.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
According to charging documents, the surveillance video with audio revealed the suspect and the victim checking in at the front desk together at about 7:20 p.m. Thursday.
About three hours later, video showed the victim emerging from the room with no clothes on, apparently locked out. Minutes later, she re-entered the room.
Then, starting at about 1 a.m. Friday, items, including clothing, shoes and a pillow, were tossed out of the room. Over the ensuing hour, both the suspect and the victim would emerge from the room in various states of dress and then go back inside.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
According to the court documents, by 2:19 a.m. Friday, audio picked up what sounded like a woman’s voice screaming, “Get off me,” and then a cry for help.
It would be seven more hours before the suspect would be seen leaving the room alone. No one else leaves or enters until the hotel employee discovers Maddox inside.
Based on the ID used to check in to the hotel, police named Barret as their suspect and posted a lookout.
A patrol officer located him less than a mile away on Bladensburg Road, near Morse Street. Authorities said he had injuries and blood on his clothes and hands.
After he was arrested, Barret told investigators that he and the victim had an ongoing relationship, and that an argument inside the room got physical. He said the victim attacked him, before he strangled her with a belt, punched her and eventually beat her over the head with the ceramic cover from the hotel room’s toilet tank, according to police.
Barret allegedly told detectives that he fell asleep, awakened to find Maddox still and cold, and then he left the room on foot.
He has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
It was in March of last year that a Virginia woman was stabbed to death at the same hotel. A suspect was also arrested and charged in that killing.
