Local
Murder suspect claims self-defense
Police say gay man stabbed 30 times, doused in bleach
A man charged in the Aug. 8 stabbing death of gay federal employee Delando King told police he acted in self-defense after King allegedly held a knife to his throat and threatened to kill him, according to a police affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court.
The affidavit says defendant Marcus McLean, 24, a resident of Northeast D.C., initially denied knowing King and denied stabbing him inside King’s apartment at 1117 10th St., N.W., during the early morning hours of Aug. 8, when police believe the murder occurred.
“After being shown a still photograph of video footage showing defendant McLean and the decedent walking together at approximately 3 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2010, defendant McLean admitted that he stabbed the decedent inside the decedent’s apartment, but claimed it was in self-defense,” says the affidavit.
Police charged McLean with premeditated first-degree murder while armed after arresting him about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, along the 2100 block of P Street, N.W., within a one-block radius of three gay bars.
King, 34, an employee of the U.S. Indian Health Service, was found dead in his apartment Aug. 9 by a building maintenance worker after a co-worker reported he had not shown up for work and could not be reached, a police statement said.
The affidavit says the Dupont Circle gay bar Omega played an important role in helping investigators solve the case by providing police with video surveillance showing King and McLean together at the club shortly before the murder took place.
It says findings of an autopsy conducted by the D.C. Medical Examiner’s office show that King “sustained about thirty (30) stab wounds, five of which penetrated the heart.”
Autopsy findings also show King suffered “chemical injuries and sustained several cuts to the arms and legs.” The affidavit says the chemical injuries appear to have been caused by the body being “doused with bleach” at the time of the murder.
Several of King’s belongings were stolen from the apartment at the time of the murder, according to the affidavit, including his computer, wallet and cell phone, and investigators noted that the bedroom where King’s body was found had been “searched” by the perpetrator.
The affidavit says McLean waived his right to remain silent and agreed to speak with detectives at the D.C. police’s Homicide Branch offices.
“Defendant McLean alleged that the decedent was forcing him to be a male prostitute,” says the affidavit. “According to defendant McLean, the decedent held a knife to the throat of defendant McLean in the early morning hours of August 8, 2010 and threatened to kill him. Defendant McLean claimed that he began to stab the decedent in the chest and then he (defendant McLean) blacked out and does not remember the remainder of the stabbing.
“Defendant McLean further stated that, after the stabbing, he hid the knife used to stab the decedent, took the decedent’s computer, cell phone, and wallet, and attempted to clean/remove his fingerprints from the apartment.”
Police believe the knife used to stab King is consistent with a knife missing from a knife set they found in King’s apartment.
The affidavit notes that King was 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds at the time of his death. It says McLean is about 6 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs about 230 pounds.
McLean’s attorney, Kia Sears, could not be immediately reached for comment.
According to the affidavit, investigators used surveillance video provided by Omega bar to track the whereabouts of King and McLean on the night of the murder.
“The nightclub known as ‘Omega’ is an establishment frequented by members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities,” says the affidavit. “While viewing the video, investigators were able to determine that on Aug. 8, 2010, at approximately 1:27 a.m., the decedent and Marcus McLean were inside the establishment and that the decedent was in possession of his wallet.
“On Aug. 8, 2010, at approximately 2:45 a.m., the decedent’s check card was utilized at a bar known as The Passenger located near the intersection of Seventh and L streets, N.W., Washington, D.C.,” says the affidavit. “Shortly thereafter surveillance footage from the Washington, D.C. Convention Center captured the decedent and Marcus McLean walking from the direction of the above establishment towards the decedent’s apartment located near the intersection of 10th and L streets … The video captures the decedent and Marcus McLean holding hands while walking.”
Capt. Michael Farish of the police homicide branch told news reporters Aug. 10 that police were seeking help from the community in identifying a man captured on video surveillance cameras at King’s upscale condo building entering the building with King. The video surveillance also showed the then unidentified black man leaving the building less than an hour later carrying a bag that he did not have when he entered the building.
The affidavit, prepared several days after Farish spoke to reporters, says investigators obtained bank records showing that McLean used King’s bank card to make purchases at several stores in D.C. and Montgomery County, Md.
It also says that at about 12:52 p.m. on Aug. 8, just hours after the Medical Examiner believes King was stabbed to death, McLean “is captured in surveillance video utilizing the decedent’s check card at the Regal movie theater in Silver Spring, Maryland.”
“Marcus McLean is observed still wearing the same clothing and carrying the same lime green bag as in the lobby surveillance footage that captured him leaving the decedent’s building approximately nine hours earlier,” it says.
The police affidavit says police apprehended McLean at 2020 P St., N.W., which is the address of Marriott Residence Inn Hotel. Omega is located in an alley behind the hotel at 2122 P St., N.W.
Jason James, the Residence Inn’s desk manager, said Monday that no arrest took place at the hotel at that time. A police spokesperson familiar with the case could not be immediately reached to confirm the location of McLean’s arrest.
Court records show McLean is being held without bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in D.C. Superior Court on Sept. 7.
District of Columbia
Man charged with anti-gay assault in D.C. accepts plea offer
Community service offered in exchange for dismissing hate crime charge
A Germantown, Md., man arrested by D.C. police on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation for allegedly assaulting a gay man while using “homophobic slurs” has agreed to an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to simple assault without the hate crime designation and with the promise of having the charge dismissed if he completes, among other requirements, 48 hours of community service work.
Dean Edmundson, 26, standing beside his attorney, officially accepted the offer of a Deferred Sentencing Agreement at an Aug. 18 status hearing in D.C. Superior Court after Senior Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo explained the details of the agreement and confirmed Edmundson’s decision to waive his right to a trial.
Among other things, the judge said the agreement offered by prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. includes the requirement that he successfully completes 48 hours of community service work, stays away from the victim of the assault, writes a letter of apology to the victim, and does not violate any other laws or get into trouble for the next 12 months.
Puig-Lugo then announced he scheduled a sentencing hearing for Edmundson for Aug. 18, 2027, at which time a determination will made on whether he has fulfilled all the requirements under the agreement and whether the simple assault charge will be dismissed. The judge added that if it is determined that Edmundson did not fulfil the terms of the agreement the charge would remain in place and he could be sentenced to a possible maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Edmundson, who appeared in court wearing a business suit with a dress shirt and tie, was released on his own recognizance following his arrest by D.C. police on Feb. 7, 2026.
Police and court records show he was initially charged by arresting officers with simple assault with a hate crime designation. In a statement announcing the arrest, D.C. police said, “On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and kept walking,” the statement says.
A follow-up arrest affidavit filed by police states that Edmundson followed the victim and called him “bald, ugly, and gay,” and then “pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push.” The affidavit adds, “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay.”
According to the court records, the Office of the U.S. Attorney filed its official charge of simple assault against Edmunson on Feb. 9 without the hate crime designation. The office has not responded to a request by the Washington Blade for its reason for dropping the hate crime designation. The office has also not immediately responded to a follow-up inquiry from the Blade this week asking if prosecutors consulted the victim to obtain the victim’s thoughts about the plea offer.
The Blade, which has a policy of not disclosing the identify of crime victims in cases like this without their consent, could not immediately obtain contact information to reach the victim for comment.
Court records show that Edmundson rejected an earlier plea agreement offer by prosecutors and he was scheduled for a non-jury trial on Aug. 18. The records show his attorney filed a motion earlier this month asking the judge to convert the trial into status hearing on that same day after his client accepted the Deferred Sentencing Agreement offer by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge approved the motion without objection from prosecutors.
Virginia
Winsome Earle-Sears ‘Life and Marriage Tour’ to include Northern Va. stops
Voters to consider marriage equality, reproductive rights referenda in November
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has announced her campaign against efforts to enshrine marriage equality and reproductive rights in the state constitution will make several stops in Northern Virginia.
Her “Life and Marriage Tour” will include stops in Manassas, Winchester, and Harrisonburg. Earle-Sears said the “Life and Marriage Tour” will also travel to Virginia Beach, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Charlottesville, and other cities across Virginia “throughout September and October.”
The announcement did not include specific dates.
“Virginia, you’ve been asking where the Life and Marriage Tour is headed — here’s a look at our current tour locations,” she said on X on Tuesday. “We’ll be traveling across the commonwealth throughout September and October, and we’re still building the journey.”
Current Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, last November defeated Earle-Sears, a Republican, in the race to succeed Republican Glenn Youngkin.
Voters in 2006 approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which defined marriage in Virginia as between a man and a woman.
Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Youngkin a decade later signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.
Two successive legislatures must approve a proposed constitutional amendment before it can go to the ballot.
Spanberger signed bills that finalized the marriage equality and reproductive rights referenda’s language.
The referenda will take place on Nov. 3.
The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].
Congratulations to Carla Lester, LICSW on her new position as Chief Program Officer with SMYAL. Upon accepting the position she said, “SMYAL deeply aligns with my passion for honoring, protecting, and upholding the rights of all individuals, particularly LGBTQ+ youth and others who have been historically underserved, to belong to communities that affirm their identities, treat them with dignity and respect, and support their well-being. At this point in my career, I was ready to transition to an organization whose mission more closely reflected my values and was rooted in the community. SMYAL offered the opportunity to serve both an organization and a population whose mission not only resonates deeply with me but also intersects with my own multiple identities.”
Lester is a healthcare and human services executive with more than 20 years of experience in behavioral health, federal and state health insurance programs, housing, health care, education, and community-based services. She has held senior roles at Carelon Behavioral Health, Pathways to Housing and N Street Village, leading clinical programs, Housing First initiatives, homeless outreach, trauma-informed services, and integrated case management.
She earned master’s degrees in Social Work and Divinity, and maintains active clinical social work licenses in D.C. and Maryland.
Congratulations also to Tad Czyzewski on his new position as Chief Development Officer at SMYAL. On accepting the position, he said, “While I’ve spent much of my nonprofit career in the arts, the current social and political environments made me want to apply my skills and passion more directly toward supporting and strengthening our community. SMYAL and this role felt like the right place to do that.”
Czyzewski brings more than two decades of experience in nonprofit leadership and strategy, fundraising, and business development. Prior to joining SMYAL, he served for eight years as executive director of The Choral Arts Society of Washington, where he led fundraising, financial management, and community engagement. During his tenure, he helped raise more than $15 million in contributed revenue. He guided the organization through a major rebrand and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to that Czyzewski served as Business and Development Director for Washington Revels, and held leadership and advisory roles with Chorus America, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He began his career in the corporate sector, including at Capital One, where his work in product development and marketing contributed to new financial products and more than $2 billion in deposits.
Czyzewski is a lifelong musician, has performed professionally as a classical singer, including with the Washington National Opera and the National Symphony Orchestra.
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