A K-9 officer walks earlier the D.C. household exactly where a handyman was located decapitated. (WUSA9 screengrab)
Regulation enforcement in the nation’s funds say that a 32-calendar year-outdated Washington, D.C. resident has been determined as a murder suspect right after a grisly discovery was produced in his sister’s property.
Lavaughn Barnes, a 32-12 months-outdated, was allegedly dwelling in his sister’s basement in a Brookland rowhome in D.C.’s Northeast quadrant at the time Abdulio Arias-Lopez was killed and mutilated. While the Metropolitan Police Section stated that the victim’s continues to be ended up located on Feb. 3, investigators believe—based on an alleged confession by the suspect, who is explained as mentally ill—that Arias-Lopez was killed in November 2022.
“At approximately 8:31 am, Fifth District officers responded to the outlined area for the report of human remains found in the lawn of a residence. On arrival, officers situated the continues to be. The stays ended up verified to be human by the Business of the Chief Health care Examiner. The continues to be ended up recovered and transported to the Business of the Chief Clinical Examiner for further evaluation,” police mentioned. “The detectives’ investigation decided that the dying of the target was the outcome of a homicide.”
Barnes turned himself in and was arrested Wednesday, cops claimed. He now faces a cost of 1st-diploma murder whilst armed.
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“The construction is described as a yellow rowhome. The key entrance door to the home is brown. To the still left of entrance doorway are the numerals ‘1336’ and are black in shade. The garden is accessed along a grass path beside the house,” said MPD Det. Brian Bador, reportedly describing the scene in an application for a research warrant. The detective sought judicial authorization to search the property for proof of the victim’s stays and any other proof in the case, like blood, feasible DNA evidence, or weapons.
A D.C. decide uncovered probable induce to authorities the research the premises. Authorities stated that the human continues to be discovered in “black drawstring trash baggage with crimson pulls.”
The affidavit accompanying the software for the warrant stated that the stays were being found out in the yard when Witness-1 was “clearing the subject from the overgrowth of bamboo.”
“A homicide detective observed the partially decomposed and decapitated human body. The physique was inside of a black plastic trash bag,” the affidavit claimed, including that it appeared the target was shot a single time in the abdomen.
WUSA 9 noted that the target was discovered both equally headless and handless:
https://www.youtube.com/observe?v=ZTJIjtG-QDw
FOX 5 DC described that the handyman sufferer was going to support with portray the kitchen area at the residence on Nov. 4, 2022 when he was attacked and killed seemingly at random:
Barnes explained to police he became offended for unknown motives, and tased Arias-Lopez in the again of the head, ahead of stabbing him, then cutting off his head and arms, and putting the physique in a trash bag in the yard.
The suspect allegedly murdered the handyman and then went to an Ace Hardware shop to obtain the ax made use of to slash up the victim’s remains.
A magistrate judge reportedly remarked that the slaying appeared “incredibly random” and requested Barnes’ ongoing detainment.
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