In a chilling episode that has gripped the nation’s capital, William Barrett, a 59-year-old man has been charged with the grotesque murder of 36-year-old Romaine Maddox in a Washington D.C. hotel room.
According to police, the altercation, which happened at the Ivy City Hotel in the northeast part of the city on February 23, 2024, turned deadly when Barrett allegedly used a ceramic toilet tank lid to fatally beat Maddox, marking a disturbing and violent end to what witnesses and surveillance footage suggest was a night filled with tumultuous interactions between the pair.
According to court documents and surveillance footage, Barrett and Maddox were seen entering room 123 of the hotel around 7:20 p.m. Approximately three hours later, the victim exited the room naked, seemingly locked out before she managed to re-enter minutes later.
Beginning around 1 a.m. Friday, various items, such as clothes, shoes, and a pillow, were thrown from the room. Maddox attempted to flee at approximately 1:15 a.m., clad only in her underwear, signaling a desperate escape bid. Barrett’s naked pursuit of Maddox further exposes the altercation’s savage and chaotic essence.
By 2:19 a.m., audio recordings captured desperate cries for help and the unmistakable sounds of a struggle. Witnesses and surveillance footage provide investigators with a timeline that ended devastatingly.
Seven hours would pass before Barrett was observed leaving the room by himself, with no subsequent entry or exit into the room until a hotel employee found Maddox dead inside. Police identified Barrett as the suspect through the ID presented at hotel check-in and issued an alert for his apprehension.
Officers apprehended Barrett less than a mile from the hotel on Bladensburg Road, near Morse Street, noting injuries and blood on his clothing and hands. Upon arrest, Barrett informed detectives of his ongoing relationship with Maddox, stating that a dispute in the room escalated into a physical confrontation. He claimed Maddox attacked him first, leading him to strangle her with a belt, punch her, and ultimately inflict fatal blows with the toilet tank’s ceramic lid, as per police reports.
Barrett reportedly informed detectives that he dozed off, awoke to discover Maddox unresponsive and cool to the touch, and subsequently exited the room on foot. He faces charges of first-degree murder.
A similar incident occurred at the same hotel in March of last year when a woman from Virginia was fatally stabbed. An arrest was made, and charges were filed in connection with that homicide as well.
The suspect faces the potential of life imprisonment if convicted. The evidence, including surveillance footage, audio recordings, and Barrett’s admissions, will play a crucial role in the trial.