Two teenage girls went to trial for second-degree murder Thursday, accused of randomly beating a D.C. man with disabilities to death last fall.
Reggie Brown, 64, was taking a walk on Georgia Avenue in October when a group of five girls allegedly attacked him unprovoked, prosecutors said in opening statements.
One of those girls took cellphone video of the attack in which the group appeared to be in a celebratory mood afterward, according to prosecutors.
Brown faced health issues for much of his life, weighing just 110 pounds and missing six fingers due to lupus. He also was battling cancer and liked to take long walks at night, according to his family.
On Oct. 17, a still unidentified man attacked Brown, as seen on surveillance video.
Five girls, ages 12 to 15, joined the attack, prosecutors say. Surveillance video showed them stomping Brown's head into the pavement and whipping him with his own belt.
He died shortly afterward.
In court Thursday, the defense for one of the girls argued she was not involved in the attack and wasn't even there. Her defense said the case was based on "unreliable, untrustworthy evidence and grainy video" because police were “under serious pressure to solve this case.”
The defense for the other girl argued, "Not every death is a murder or homicide," and said the evidence does not show an intent to kill or seriously injure.
Brown's sister said it's been heartbreaking to hear what her brother went through.
“We're here because we want to ensure that justice be done and that this doesn't happen to any other family,” Malda Brown said.
“Everybody up in D.C., upper Northwest, knew my little brother, and he was just a good soul," she said. "And for something like this to happen to him is just hurting the whole neighborhood up in D.C.”
She wishes the two girls could have been tried as adults and feels D.C. needs tougher laws when it comes to juvenile crime.
“These young people are committing crimes knowingly that if you commit crimes while you are a juvenile, that nothing is gonna happen,” she said. “That is the word on the street that they say, Oh, we can commit crimes because nothing is gonna happen to us.”
A third girl in the case pleaded guilty to assault last month. The other two girls are scheduled to go on trial in November.
If any of the four girls being tried are convicted, they will remain in the custody of D.C.'s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services until they turn 21.
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