A 13-year-old girl who was convicted of murder in the 2023 death of 64-year-old Reggie Brown in D.C. was sentenced Wednesday to eight years of confinement.
The girl, whose identity has not been made public as she’s a minor, will serve the allotted time at a secure juvenile facility.
While walking home Oct. 17, 2023, Brown was attacked by five girls ranging in age from 12 to 15 in the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue Northwest. Police found him unresponsive with blunt force trauma to the head and pronounced him dead on the scene.
It was discovered that the five young girls had shoved, kicked and beaten Brown to death because the girls “were bored,” according to a 15-year-old who testified and pleaded guilty in the case.
The girls walked up to a man who juvenile court prosecutors are calling “Blue Coat,” who was assaulting Brown outside a Domino’s Pizza on Sheridan Street and asked if they could join in. One of the girls recorded the brutal beating, and it was played in court in October after being sent by a social worker to the presiding judge.
Police still haven’t identified “Blue Coat,” though there was surveillance camera footage that showed the incident.
NBC Washington reporter and WTOP alum Paul Wagner joined WTOP to talk about the update in the case a judge called “horrific.”
Listen or read the interview below.
The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Anne Kramer: Paul, before we ask you what happened during sentencing, could you just give us the Reader’s Digest version of this case so our listeners remember?
Paul Wagner: Sure, it was back in October of last year when Reggie Brown was out walking late at night, something he did all the time, when a man accosted him — the police call him “Blue Coat” — and dragged him across George Avenue and began to beat Reggie.
At that point, there were five girls walking up George Avenue. They were actually out looking to beat someone up that night. That’s the testimony in this case. And they asked Blue Coat if they could join in. He said, “sure.”
And before you know it, Reggie, who was trying to run away, the girls ran him down in the alley, and they beat him to death. They actually stomped him to death. And there’s a video of it, and I’ve seen the video, and it’s just stomach churning. And Reggie was killed in that alley.
Shawn Anderson: The 13-year-old girl has been sentenced. Tell us what happened inside the courtroom during sentencing Wednesday.
Paul Wagner: Well, the family of Reggie Brown, two sisters who’ve been there every day, got up and spoke to the judge. One said they were just absolutely heartbroken, that they were a close-knit family, and then asked the judge to commit this girl to the Division of Youth and Rehabilitation Services until she is 21.
What’s extraordinary is the girl — who was 12 at the time, she’s now 13 — her attorney, turned to the family and actually apologized to the family and said that the girl was embarrassed and was deeply remorseful.
But I think what you need to hear is what the judge had to say. And the judge spoke directly to the girl and said that “Mr. Brown was clearly frail and older. You had to jump a fence to get to him. You had extra opportunity to think about what you were doing and walk away. You killed him by hitting him in the head twice. You had multiple opportunities to walk away. You took the camera and filmed the majority of the assaults, you put faces in the camera and you celebrated. You celebrated.” And then the judge said, “you are in desperate need of services.” Again, she’ll be committed to DYRS until she’s 21 years old.
Anne Kramer: Some strong words there from the judge. What do we expect, or can we expect, might happen when it comes to sentencing for the 14-year-old?
Paul Wagner: Well, we were supposed to get another sentencing today (Wednesday) — that’s been put off until the middle of this month (December), and so we’re still waiting for two other sentencings in this case. The second girl who was convicted of second-degree murder, she still needs to be sentenced. And another girl who had pled guilty to felony conspiracy, she hasn’t been sentenced either.
So, of the five girls that were involved, two were convicted, three pled guilty.
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