Updated: Alexandria Police Investigating Suspicious Death on Holly Street in Del Ray
Police responded to a call of "trouble unknown" early Wednesday evening.
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10:41 p.m. update — David Bouk, a resident of the Holly Street home where the deceased man was found Wednesday, reported two burglaries at the home in 2011.
Bouk even addressed City Council about the “persistent” issue that March.
“Crime has apparently come to the neighborhood in a fairly persistent manner,” Bouk told council in 2011, mentioning that one of the burglaries occurred while he took his “mother’s husband” to the hospital.
“This is not something that we’re used to and I can tell you it’s ceasing to be funny real quick.” Bouk said. “I just wanted to call this to the [council’s] attention that neighborhoods that haven’t been experiencing persistent crime are now experiencing it. … This is not just a random thing. This is persistent. … Both times [the house was burglarized] no one was home. … They go for easy things like cash and jewelry.”
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10:30 p.m. update — Alexandria Police Deputy Chief Cleveland Spruill told Fox 5 the police have no information about a possible killer or description of a murder suspect.
The residence where the man was found is located around the corner from the W. Mount Ida home where Nancy Dunning, the wife of then-Alexandria Sheriff Jim Dunning, was murdered in December 2003.
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9:44 p.m. update. — The Alexandria Police Department is reporting that the 94-year-old male suffered "upper body trauma." The victim’s identity is being held pending notification of next of kin.
According to a myfoxdc.com report, the man was killed during an apparent robbery.
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9:05 p.m. update — The deceased has been identified as a 94-year-old white male, according to sources with information about the investigation. His body was discovered by a stepson.
The case is being treated as a suspicious death until police can move the body and analyze the scene.
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Alexandria police are investigating a suspicious death of a man Wednesday in a home in the 2700 block of Holly Street, near its intersection with W. Mount Ida Avenue.
The police responded to a call of “trouble unknown” between 6:30 and 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, Alexandria Police Department spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt said.
“Officers arrived and found the victim in the residence,” Hildebrandt said. “Medics arrived a short time later and pronounced him at the scene. We’re investigating it right now.”
The APD’s Criminal Scene Investigations truck arrived on the scene around 8:20 p.m.
This is a breaking news story. Patch will provide more information as it becomes available.
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Inka
10:29 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Yet another murder in what has sometimes been referend to as the Del Ray Triangle.
Gail G
10:36 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Are you sure it's a murder? It just says that it was suspicious and given that the man was 94, it's more likely to be a natural causes in the end.
RJ
10:49 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Upper body trauma, not natural.
Fred
10:37 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Yet another? Alexandria didn't have a single homicide in 2012.
Gail G
10:58 pm on Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Just saw that update. How sad. A burglar does not have to kill a 94 year old. A 94 year old man is pretty harmless unless he has a gun.
Gabrielle Browne
12:48 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Fred is correct. Alexandria has had only 4 homicides in the past 5 years, none of which were in Del Ray. 2 on the west end and 2 in old town. DC averages anywhere from 90-250 homicides on any given year. I'd say the police department does a pretty good job of trying to keep Alexandria residents safe.
Gabrielle Browne
7:35 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
By the way, the perp has been caught. Great work by the APD.
MR
10:24 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
How do you know? Link?
Drew Hansen
10:31 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Alexandria police are going to release a statement later today. I cannot confirm if anyone has been arrested.
Tincup
11:30 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Great job? What was the city councils response to the concerned resident about crime in the area two years before??? What is city's response to compliants of criminal activity now in certain areas?? Do we have to wait until a burglary or robbery escalates into murder?? I hope the police are as vigilant as they were about the 10yr old with the plastic orange tip gun!!! Maybe they'll share a cell together?
timp4
12:20 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
As a neighbor, I can tell you the city's response was adequate to the situation. There was a patrol car that sat for 2 months on our street and there were also increased driving patrols. The police have always responded quickly to any situation. That house was the only house on our street that has had any kind of break-in in the past several years and I believe it was targeted specifically.
Drew Hansen
12:18 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
The victim of the suspicious death has been identified as Elmer Roehrs. An arrest has been made in relation to a November 2012 burglary at the home but not in relation to Wednesday evening's incident. More here: http://patch.com/A-1VVQ
Inka
2:23 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
My comment was not intended to indicate a high murder rate in Alexandria. Folks in Del Ray have sometimes mentioned the word "triangle" in reference to a cluster of incidents and tragedies that have occurred in the area. There are more than I have listed here.
April 2000 – 8 yearold Kevin Shifflett was murdered in front of his grandmother’s home on E. Custis. The case was solved 6 months later.
December 2003 - Nancy Dunning, the wife of then-Alexandria Sheriff Jim Dunning was murdered in her home on W. Mt. Ida. The case has not been solved.
April 2005 - Police shoot Lewis W. Barber, 48, outside his home after a 20-hour standoff in which Barber abducted his 9-year-old son at gunpoint and holed up in his West Wyatt home.
October 2006 - Bethlehem Ayele, 34 was shot and killed while waiting in her car at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues. To my knowledge this case remains unsolved.
December 2009 - 19-year Kossi Djossou was shot and killed at the Gold Crust Baking Company located in the 500 block of East Monroe. The case was solved.
matt tallmerq
2:38 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
I see. APD had a patrol car sit in front of a burglarized hosue for two months -- a home that happens to be near that of the Mayor. APD's respons to multiple fights and open drinking of alcohol by apparent minors over several months, three grafitti incidents over Christmas weekend, and two shootings over the course of a single weekend get us in North Old Town what? Nothing.
Cathryn S
3:44 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Holly Street is not even in the same zipcode as the Mayor's house, unless he has moved from E. Nelson.
WestEnder
3:30 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
For heaven's sake. Go to your local library, get a free bike map, and locate Holly and E Nelson. As the crow flies, the distance is .75 of a mile. As the entire city is four miles by four miles, by your estimation all n'hoods are "next door."
matt tallmerq
3:38 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
WestEnder: Was that to me or someone else?
matt tallmerq
4:13 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Ok strike comment re: Mayor. The point remains the same: APD sits a car in front of a house that once was burglarized while a house in North Old Town is broken into and lived in for a full month by a squatter, and all the other incidents laid out above. We met with APD mulitiple times and got no assistance.
Linda Kelly
5:46 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Matt-these folks had their home burglarized twice and their car broken into within the course of three months. The homeowner testified to City Council about it, which is probably why they got some attention from the police, not to mention that the house in which Nancy Dunning was murdered is within spitting distance. Now the home has been invaded a THIRD time and a homicide has resulted. Are you trying to argue that the police presence was unwarranted? I am having a hard time following that logic.
matt tallmerq
7:59 am on Friday, February 15, 2013
My hearts and prayers and sympathies go out to this poor family. But we - the folks in North Old Town living near the Old Town Grocery and Old Town Commons -- held numerous meetings with Council and the Mayor, as well as City staff and APD. We signed a huge petition that was presented to Council. We spoke at numerous Council meetings. We got zero response until the store was raided. But it continues operating and attracting suspicious characters (i.e., people who go in and come up without any bags or apparent purchases). APD's response: Show us proof a crime was committed. We also have had serveral multiple burglaries in our area and, again, no respoinse from APD. We warned APD the situation was getting worse and worried about a shootout. When that happened, APD's response essentially was things happen. My only point is there seems to be a double standard in APD enforcement.