The suspect in a fatal stabbing on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Thursday told D.C. police that the devil told him to do it, according to court documents.
Lance R. Ammons, 42, said he was walking across the bridge Thursday afternoon when the devil told him to stab 62-year-old Robert Bolich, an inspector who was working on the bridge also known as the South Capitol Street Bridge, according to court documents.
Ammons, who remained on the scene, said that by the time police arrived, he had regained control of his thoughts.
On the bridge, police found a blood trail, a visibility vest with blood stains next to a notebook, also with blood stains, and an architecture sketch. They also found a red knife with blood on the blade.
A witness who was some 300 yards away told police that the suspect beat someone on the bridge who was wearing a neon visibility vest and waving his arm.
The witness said the victim twice ran away and fell to the ground, while the suspect “remained at the scene and just stood there,” court documents said. The witness was too far away to see whether the suspect had a knife but did identify Ammons as the person who punched Bolich upon reaching his location.
A second witness who administered CPR to the victim asked what happened and told police that a person matching Ammons’ description — a male, wearing a blue shirt, shorts, glasses and a ball cap — hit his chest in a manner the witness believed indicated that he was responsible for what happened. The witness observed two stab wounds on Bolich, upon cutting open his shirt. The witness also saw a red pocket knife and a book bag, but did not see Ammons with them.
A third witness said that the suspect was standing at the scene and said, “Not what you think.” This witness also provided first aid and said that there was a red pocket knife on the scene.
Bolich, of Alexandria, Virginia, was stabbed twice on the left chest, which struck the lung and heart, once in the left thigh and once in the right upper leg. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Ammons told police that he moved to D.C. to prepare for the end of the world. He said that he is homeless and lives in a “forest” near the bridge. Police said that Ammons was able to correctly answer his location, current date and the name of the president.
Ammons has been arrested on charges of murder and is being held without bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled in September.
