Teen convict says deadly beatdown of disabled D.C. man started out of boredom

A District teenage girl who was convicted of joining last year’s deadly assault of a disabled man in Northwest testified Tuesday that the group of five girls began their night with violent intentions after they became “bored” and went looking for “someone to beat up.”

The 15-year-old’s testimony involved her narrating a cellphone video of the October 2023 attack and pointing out when two other girls, now currently being tried on murder charges, delivered blows to Reginald Brown — a 64-year-old man who had multiple fingers missing on both hands.

The girl testified that the now-13-year-old kicked Brown in the body, and the now-14-year-old girl stomped on the victim’s head during the fatal beatdown in an alley near the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Sheridan Street in Northwest.

The video showed Brown lying on the ground with pools of blood by his head. Prosecutors said the girls and an unknown man assaulted Brown, and also pulled down the victim’s pants and whipped him with his own belt.

Girls’ voices on the video can be heard yelling “Belt to ass,” “loser” and “he’s leaking,” which the 15-year-old testified was a reference to Brown bleeding.

A medical examiner previously testified that Brown, who was also sick with cancer, died of an internal brain bleed caused by repeated hits to the head.

The 15-year-old girl on the witness stand pleaded guilty in August to assault with a dangerous weapon, with prosecutors saying her foot qualified as the “dangerous weapon.” She was sentenced to three years behind bars at the District’s juvenile detention facility last week.

Another teen girl who participated in the beating also pleaded guilty in recent weeks, while the case against the 15-year-old's younger teen sister is ongoing.

All five girls were between the ages of 12 and 15 when Brown was killed on Oct. 17, 2023. The girls have been held at the city’s juvenile detention facility since they were each arrested.

The Washington Times was allowed to attend the hearing on the condition that it publish no identifying information about the suspects, or disclose any information about their mental health or education.

The 15-year-old testified that the girls were wandering around Georgia Avenue NW late on Oct. 16, 2023, until they came across a man in a blue coat who was roughing up Brown.

The 15-year-old said she asked whether the group of girls could help the unknown man. He agreed, and they all chased the fleeing Brown down into the alley where he was killed.

The cellphone video appears to show the girls celebrating the beating while walking out of the alley.

The 15-year-old testified that she thought “he’s dead” about Brown as they returned to the street because the victim no longer yelled “stop” after a certain point.

If the 13-year-old and 14-year-old girls are both convicted of murder, they will be imprisoned until they turn 21, which is the maximum time juvenile convicts can remain behind bars under District law.

Police have not arrested the adult or named or otherwise identified him.