Man Held in Revenge Killing, D.C. Police Say
Father Allegedly Retaliated for Slayings of Son and His Mother

By Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 22, 2007

A Southeast Washington man has been arrested in what police say was a revenge killing for the fatal shooting of his 4-year-old son and the boy's mother.

Darius McKeever, 28, was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 17 killing of Raymond Carpenter. Police described Carpenter as a suspect in the slayings of McKeever's son Darius Branch and the child's mother, Turkessa Branch.

The child and his mother were found shot to death Oct. 25 in their apartment in the 3600 block of Ely Place SE. Turkessa Branch, 30, was shot in the head, and Darius was hit in the neck. There were no signs of forced entry into the second-floor unit at the Anacostia Gardens complex.

Detectives believe Carpenter was trying to collect a debt from Branch but ended up killing her, said Inspector Rodney Parks, head of the D.C. police violent crimes branch. Parks said he did not know the nature of the debt.

Witnesses told police that Carpenter was overheard bragging on the streets about the killings, according to a court affidavit filed yesterday.

The child was probably shot simply because he was in the house with his mother, Parks said.

Carpenter, 28, of the 4200 block of H Street SE, was a known drug user and might have been high at the time of the killings, according to police. "He may have been under the influence of PCP," Parks said.

Although police viewed him as the main suspect, they said they did not have enough evidence to charge him.

Then, three weeks after the killings, police found Carpenter's body in the 3100 block of Buena Vista Terrace SE. He had been shot several times.

Police developed leads until this week, when they charged McKeever, of the 4200 block of East Capitol Street SE. At the same time, they closed their investigation into the killings of Turkessa and Darius Branch, tying them to Carpenter.

Parks said he did not know whether Carpenter and McKeever knew each other before Branch and her son were killed.

Yesterday, a judge in D.C. Superior Court ordered that McKeever remain jailed without bond pending a follow-up hearing Jan. 8.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D), who announced the arrest at a news conference, said he hopes this will be the last chapter in the case. "Hopefully, this tragic cycle of violence ends today with the arrest of Darius McKeever," he said.

Carpenter was also the main suspect in another homicide that police closed when he was killed. Early Sept. 29, David Best and another man were shot in the 4800 block of Alabama Avenue SE. Best, 34, died; the other man survived.

Carpenter has been convicted in recent years of conspiracy to sell crack cocaine and possession of marijuana. McKeever also has a record, with convictions on drug and weapons charges.

Parks said police have identified 11 retaliatory killings in the city this year. He said this case stood out because a child was involved. Four-year-old Darius had at least one sibling, a 10-year-old boy who is left without a mother and brother -- and with a father who might go to prison, Parks said.

He emphasized that people should not exact street vengeance. "You need to bring the person to justice," Parks said, "but not by retaliating."

Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said, "Any murder is one too many, but nothing bothers me and police officers in general more than the murder of a child. And the tragedy is compounded in this case as the other children have also lost their mother and now potentially their father as he faces criminal charges."

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.