Two teenage girls, ages 13 and 14, have been found guilty of second-degree murder, assault, and conspiracy after the brutal killing of 64-year-old disabled man, Reggie Brown, in Washington, D.C. The girls, who didn’t know the victim, killed him simply because they were bored, as admitted by one of the involved teens during testimony.
The crime occurred on October 17, 2023, when officers responded to reports of a man down in the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest. Upon arriving, they found Brown suffering from injuries consistent with an assault. Despite attempts to revive him, he was declared dead at the scene. An autopsy later confirmed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Brown had lupus and had recently been battling cancer, which made him particularly vulnerable.
Initially, investigators arrested three juveniles, including the 13-year-old girl and two 13-year-olds. Later, it was revealed that two additional teens, including a 15-year-old girl, were involved. The 15-year-old pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention. As part of her plea deal, she testified in the trial of the two main defendants.
The 15-year-old’s testimony revealed shocking details of how the attack unfolded. The group of girls had been at a skate park in Maryland before returning to one of their homes, where they were looking for something to do. Boredom led one of the girls to suggest they go out and “find someone to beat up.” As they walked along Georgia Avenue, they came across Brown, who was already being attacked by another man. This man, described as wearing a blue coat, pushed Brown to the ground, and when asked why he was assaulting the man, he reportedly allowed the girls to join in the attack. The 15-year-old, who had recorded the attack, testified that the girls kicked and stomped on Brown’s head while also using a belt to lash him. Afterward, some of the girls took selfies, seemingly without remorse for their violent actions.
In court, defense attorneys for the two main defendants argued that their clients should not face murder charges. The attorney for the 13-year-old claimed that his client did not have the intent to kill and that she was merely a follower in the group. The 14-year-old’s attorney maintained that her client was not involved in the attack at all, dismissing the evidence as unreliable.
While the defense teams sought lesser charges, the judge found the two girls guilty of second-degree murder and other related offenses. The 13-year-old was also convicted of tampering with physical evidence. They are both facing juvenile detention until they turn 21, with sentencing scheduled for next month.
The victim’s family, particularly his sister Malda Brown, expressed a sense of relief at the guilty verdict, but also vowed to continue seeking justice for the man who initially instigated the brutal attack. The case has drawn attention to the extreme violence and lack of empathy demonstrated by the teens involved, as well as the troubling motivations behind the crime, highlighting the need for further examination of juvenile justice and the factors influencing such violent behavior.
