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4 weeks ago
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A Washington DC court heard horrific details about how five children allegedly beat a disabled man to death - prompting the 13-year-old girl blamed for landing the killing blow to sob.
Police Detective Harry Singleton described at a pre-trial hearing on Thursday what he witnessed the night of Reggie Brown's death in October as well as an interview he conducted with the 13 year old, whom he said fatally kicked Brown in the head.
He described the unidentified 13 year old's role as 'the most brutal part of the murder,' as she and four of her friends beat the 64-year-old until he stopped breathing, WUSA 9 reports.
As Singleton spoke, the teenager became emotional and started to cry.
She and three of her friends, all between the ages of 12 to 15, are now set to face trial on second-degree murder and assault with dangerous weapon charges. The fifth girl, 15, has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault with a dangerous weapon - which prosecutors say was her foot, according to the Washington Post.
Reggie Brown, 64, was allegedly beaten to death by five girls one night in October
At previous hearings, prosecutors have aired cellphone footage captured by at least one of the teenagers - showing the girls kicking Brown, stomping his head into the pavement, pulling his pants down around his ankles, removing his belt and beating him with it.
It also reportedly showed them celebrating afterward.
Then, at a separate hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors also aired video from the DC police homicide headquarters, in which Singleton could be seen driving one of the teengers and her mother to his office.
In the video, the teen claimed she and four other girls were walking down Georgia Avenue when they saw an unidentified man beating up Brown and dragging him by the collar, the Post reports.
She said she and her friends heard the adult male yelling at Brown, saying, 'I gave you an hour and you didn't give me my money.'
The teen said that one of her friends asked, 'Do you need help? Can we fight him?' at which point the unidentified man ordered the girls to continue fighting Brown and allegedly threatened to kill them if they didn't.
That unidentified man was captured on video in a blue coat, but was never arrested.
The girls allegedly kicked Brown, stomped his head into the pavement, pulled his pants down around his ankles, removed his belt and beat him with it
They said they were walking down Georgia Avenue that night when they saw an unidentified man beating up Brown and dragging him by the collar - and joined in
The teenager also said that she 'froze' after she saw Brown started bleeding and stopped kicking him.
She claimed she 'soft kicked' Brown in his leg, and told Singleton: 'I saw him take his last breath.'
But Singleton has since testified that - despite the girl claiming the unidentified man threatened her and her friends with a gun if they did not fight Brown - there was no evidence that the man had a weapon in the video.
The five teens were finally charged with Brown's murder in March, and have been in custody with DC's Department of Youth Rehabilitation as they await trial next month.
If convicted, four of the teens could face a maximum penalty of confinement to a Department of Youth Rehabilitation facility until they turn 21 - after which they would have to be released by law.
It is unclear what sentence the 15-year-old may get after pleading guilty to the lesser charge.
Brown was battling lupus - a disease of the immune system, which affected his hands and feet - as well as cancer
Her attorney, Philip Skillman, told Judge Kendra D Briggs on Monday that prosecutors allowed the teen to admit to the lesser charge because she 'immediately' took responsibility and 'did not play as significant of a role' as the other four.
Prosecutor Gabrielle LoGaglio accepted the deal - and noted that at the time of the attack, the 15 year old was also wanted in Maryland in connection with two robberies.
Skillman asked that his client be released and returned to live with her mother until her sentencing on September 13, but Briggs denied the request.
In the meantime, Brown's family says they want justice for his death.
'These aren't girls. These are animals and they should be locked up for the maximum amount of time,' Brown's sister Nasia Israel told the Post.
'He was on his way home and they just took his life for nothing,' her brother, Samuel Brown, added.
'He didn't deserve this - no one deserved this.'
The family has previously said he was the youngest of seven children and was battling lupus - a disease of the immune system, which affected his hands and feet - as well as cancer. He had also lost six fingers.
They say they are now trying to make sure no other family has to experience such a horrific crime.
'Everybody is just heartbroken, we are just trying to get through this,' one of Brown's sisters told WUSA 9.
'We just don't want this to happen to another family. We are not just taking a stand for Reginald Brown, but for the whole entire American families,' she added.
English (US)