WTTG / Metropolitan Police Department
The victim had previously filed a complaint against one of the women, who reportedly worked as a prostitute, claiming she took his phone and used a payment app without permission.
Two women have been arrested and charged with first degree murder and armed felony murder in the April death of Fasil Teklemariam, 53, in his Washington, DC apartment. The pair then allegedly used his severed thumb to steal money through his phone.
Police were led to one of the women, 22-year-old Tiffany Gray, after the victim has previously filed a complaint against her in October 2023. He claimed then that she had stolen his phone and was making payments through an app without his permission, stealing a total of $1800 per Law & Crime.
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View StoryAfter his death, court documents in D.C. allege that Gray and her accomplice, 19-year-old Audrey Miller, used the deceased's severed thumb to access a payment app on his phone to pay for things like alcohol, marijuana, and Uber.
Authorities also found evidence that the apartment had been scrubbed in an attempt to hide murder evidence, per Law & Crime, but police still found bloody footprints and other stains after using a forensic ink. They believe the victim was murdered on April 1, but his body was not found until April 5.
According to WTOP, an autopsy of Teklemariam's body found that he sustained multiple blunt force fractures to the head, and a severe stab wound that punctured his stomach, small intestine, aorta, and spine. The arrest affidavit for Miller, as seen by WTTG, the victim had "several" cuts to his legs, a cut on his right hand, and his right thumb had been severed.
Surveillance images from Teklamariam's apartment building captured both suspects, as well as at least two additional men, wearing masks, taking things from his apartment, including electronics, during the days between his suspected death and discovery. Authorities have yet to recover the stolen electronics, or the victim's thumb, per WTTG.
Volusia County Branch Jail
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View StoryGray was arrested on July 1 by the Capital Area Region Fugitive Task Force while in Maryland. She is set to be extradited to Washington, D.C. to face charges. Witnesses purportedly told police, per the court records, that Teklemariam was Gray's "sugar daddy" and that she worked as a prostitute.
She also allegedly went under additional aliases to hide her identity from police, and was accused of stealing from previous romantic partners found on dating apps in Maryland.
Miller, who has no fixed address per the court documents, was previously arrested June 21. She made her first court appearance the following day, per CrimeOnline, and is due back in court July 30.
