The last of five young girls convicted in the brutal stomping death of a 64-year-old man in Washington, D.C., received one of the harshest sentences among the teen assailants.
Judge Kendra Briggs sentenced the 14-year-old girl to serve out a seven-year term in a restricted facility, stating that the teen “delivered some of the most vicious blows” that ultimately led to the death of Reggie Brown.
Authorities found Brown’s body in an alley on Oct. 17, 2023. A medical examiner concluded that Brown, a physically disabled man with cancer and lupus who lived in northwest D.C., died from blunt force trauma to the head, which resulted in a brain bleed. His death was ruled as a homicide.
Several months after his death, police announced that five girls, all between the ages of 12 and 15, were behind the vicious beating. Authorities said the group chased Brown into an alley where they beat, punched, and stomped him to death.
All five either pleaded guilty or were convicted of various crimes, including second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to commit assault.
One of the teen attackers was remanded to a youth rehabilitation facility until she turns 21. The youngest of the group, a girl who was 12 at the time of the attack, will serve time in a detention facility until she’s 20.
Another girl will be in custody until she’s 21 and the 15-year-old girl, the oldest of the group, was sentenced to three years in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon after taking a plea deal.
After the final sentencing, WUSA9 spoke with Brown’s sisters.
“She got juvenile life. That’s all that they can give her. They can only stay incarcerated until they’re 21,” said Nasia Israel, Brown’s sister.
“Until they start probably making these parents held accountable for what their children do, then it’ll be a better world,” Malda Brown added. “I hope and pray that these young people out there that’s having these kids. I pray and hope they learn some instilling values in their children. They stay home and teach their children and give them guidance.”
Judge Kendra Briggs commented on the emotional toll Brown’s family suffered during this case.
“A close has come to this criminal case, but there is no closure for the families involved,” Briggs said.
The 15-year-old confessed that shortly before the attack, she proposed that the group “find someone to beat up … because we were bored.”
As the girls were walking through D.C.’s Brightwood neighborhood, a man who was already attacking Brown invited them to join in on the assault.
One girl took selfies at the crime scene and another later sent a voice message to a friend bragging about the beating. After prosecutors played a recording of the message in court, Briggs said the girl “talked about murder as if it was like making a sandwich.”
Authorities are still looking for the man who attacked Brown first. He remains unidentified and at large.
