Boy Found Bound, Slain in Home

6-Year-Old May Have Been Dead for Hours, D.C. Police Say

A 6-year-old boy was found dead yesterday morning, his hands and ankles bound and a gag stuffed in his mouth, in a water-filled bathtub in his Southeast Washington apartment, authorities said.

The boy appeared to have been dead for hours, perhaps longer, police said. He was alone in the apartment when his grandmother found him at 8:15 a.m., facedown in about a foot and a half of water, they said. The grandmother, who had come by to pick him up for summer camp, called 911 and was "hysterical" when police and rescue workers arrived, authorities said.

Police identified the child as Don Miguel Wilson and said he lived in the apartment with his mother, Julia Barber, and his 11-month-old brother. Investigators were questioning the mother last night, and the 11-month-old was in the care of the city's child welfare agency.

Police said that the cause of the boy's death has not been determined and that they had no suspect or motive.

The grandmother, Juanita Barber, told police that the front door of the apartment was unlocked, which she said was unusual. When she found Don Miguel, his ankles were bound, his hands were tied behind his back and some kind of gag was in his mouth, police said. He was wearing play clothes, they said.

Relatives and others described Don Miguel as an energetic, affectionate, high-spirited youngster who enjoyed sports, electronic toys and helping work on a relative's car.

"This is beyond tragic. It's something that should anger anyone, that a youngster could be so sadistically killed," D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said.

Police were attempting to determine why the boy was alone and for how long. They said Julia Barber was with Don Miguel's brother and came to the scene after being contacted by the grandmother. Police provided no other details about the mother's whereabouts. One relative said Julia Barber is a nursing assistant.

Don Miguel was pronounced dead in the second-story bathroom of the brick apartment building he'd lived in for most of his life. For hours, the crime scene investigators had to work around his body. Medical examiners finally removed the body late in the afternoon.

The medical examiner's office is conducting an autopsy to determine time and cause of death. Investigators said the stages of rigor mortis might have been hastened by the water, making it difficult to quickly establish a time of death, Ramsey said.

Some of the victim's relatives gathered at the police department's violent crimes branch, where detectives were questioning the mother and others in hopes of uncovering leads.

Brazil Smith, the boy's maternal great-grandfather, often cared for the child during the day.