Two DC women charged with murder, severing victim's thumb to withdraw money from his cash app

WASHINGTON, DC - Two women have been arrested in connection with the murder and dismemberment of a man in the capital city and then using his severed thumb to withdraw money from his bank account, Fox News Digital reports. 

Tiffany Taylor Gray, 22, was arrested earlier this month in connection with the April murder and was charged with first-degree murder while armed in connection with the death of Fasil Teklemariam, 53, who was found dead inside his DC apartment on April 5, according to the Metropolitan DC Police Department. 

According to a witness, Gray was working as a sex worker and described Teklemariam as her “sugar daddy,” claims which have not been verified by investigators, according to a Metro PD spokesperson. 

Teklemariam was a married father of two, according to a GoFundMe page set up, and was found with stab wounds, multiple blunt-force fractures to his head, and missing his right thumb. 

Investigators found broken glass in the area of his body and on his bed and also determined that cleaning agents had been used to hide evidence, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Further details surrounding his death have yet to be released. 

The same witness told investigators that Teklemariam’s thumb was used to access a financial app on his cellphone, which the suspects stole from the scene, in order to purchase alcohol and drugs. Neither the victim’s thumb nor his cell phone have been recovered as of yet. 

Gray is one of four suspects, police said– two women and two men– who are being investigated in relation to the murder. All four were seen on surveillance footage entering the victim’s apartment using a key fob, and then removing items from it in the days before he was found dead. Police believe Teklemariam was murdered on April 1. 

The other female suspect, Audrey Denise Miller, 19, was arrested on June 21 and also charged with first degree murder while armed in connection with the murder, police said. She is currently being held in custody awaiting a preliminary hearing. 

Miller was witnessed on surveillance video being with the victim before his death, charging documents revealed. 

Police were at somewhat of a dead end, however got a break in the case when they found a complaint lodged by Teklemariam last year where he alleged Gray stole his cell phone and withdrew $1800 from his finance app. The two met at his apartment on Oct. 1 to “hang out,” however the following morning he noticed she had left, his cell phone was missing, and he had unauthorized charges to his Cash App account. 

They also pinged Teklemariam’s cell phone and it came back to a tower in College Park, Maryland near where Gray rents an apartment. 

The victim was last seen alive on April 1 when he was seen on CCTV footage meeting Miller outside his apartment and then accompanying her back inside, court documents showed. 

He left approximately 20 minutes later, and returned a short time later with three cans of Coca-Cola, court records showed. Gray, Miller, and one of the male suspects were seen leaving the apartment building later on April 1. 

Maryland police officials were able to zero in on Taylor after a man reported being robbed at gunpoint by two men at her apartment. The victim met up with Taylor via a dating app and arrangements were made to meet her at her apartment. When he arrived, two men jumped out of the bathroom and pulled a gun on him before robbing him. 

The suspects forced him to divulge his banking PIN codes, and then burglarized his home. Police say that Gray has a history of meeting men online and then stealing from them. 

Police said a black Dodge Durango used by the two suspects and Taylor was seen outside Teklemariam’s apartment building in April. 

The vehicle was seized by police relative to a traffic stop and a shoe and jacket inside matched that of clothing worn by one of the suspects witnessed leaving the victim’s apartment building on April 3, according to court documents. The driver was identified as Tommy Whack, and is facing charges in Maryland for unspecified crimes. 

Gray has been charged with armed robbery and armed kidnapping in the Maryland case. She is currently awaiting extradition to Washington, D.C. in relation to Teklemariam’s death.