By Jonathan Mummolo and Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, November 22, 2008

The homicide victim found in a Montgomery County stairwell this week was a 14-year-old Virginia girl whose family reported her as a runaway in late October, authorities said yesterday.

Davonn Denise Dupree of Springfield died of multiple injuries, according to Montgomery police. Her body was found in an apartment building in the Briggs Chaney area of Silver Spring. Two men were seen carrying what appeared to be a body into the building.

Dupree was a student at South County Secondary School in Lorton, according to Fairfax County schools spokesman Paul Regnier. A family member reported her missing to Fairfax police at 10 p.m., Oct. 29, said Fairfax Officer Don Gotthardt, a police spokesman. Gotthardt said Dupree was last seen "almost immediately" before the family member made the report, but police did not discuss the details surrounding her departure.

Fairfax police said Dupree was not believed to have been endangered at the time of the report, which is why a news release was not issued. Her name was entered in national and state law enforcement databases, as is the protocol with missing persons, Gotthardt said.

"There is a distinction between when the officer takes a report simply [as] 'missing runaway' and 'endangered,' " Gotthardt said. "This child was not declared endangered by the reporting party."

Gotthardt said factors such as weather conditions, medical history and who the person was last seen with go into the determination of declaring someone "endangered."

Montgomery police said that they initially held off publicly identifying the body, hoping that doing so would aid in their investigation, but that the risk of disclosure harming the case had passed. They continue to probe Dupree's death and have released few details of how it happened.

About 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, police received calls about suspicious activity in the 13900 block of Castle Boulevard. Police and paramedics responded, but Dupree was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives said they want to speak with the male caller who originally contacted police. They also want to speak with two occupants of a red Lexus reportedly in the area at the time of the 911 call. Detectives can be reached at 240-773-5070.