Opinion ID: 1943879
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Triple Murder

Text: The killings of Edwin Knight, his brother Emory Knight, and Russell Jackson arose out of a debt of money and crack cocaine that appellant claimed was owed to him by victim Edwin Knight. On the day of the triple murder, December 18, 1996, appellant, Ms. Jamyra Simpson, and Ms. Takiesha [4] Wiseman went to the Knights' home in a gold or champagne color Nissan Maxima belonging to appellant's mother. Appellant told the two women of the debt and said no one would get hurt if [Simpson] just did what he asked [her] to do. Appellant told Simpson to go inside and ask Edwin to come outside. Simpson was frightened, but went to the house as appellant and Wiseman drove off and parked the car down the block. Appellant left Wiseman in the car and proceeded back to the Knights' house. Rather than bringing him outside to meet with appellant, Simpson left with Edwin Knight to go to a restaurant, but they returned to the house a short time later because he had forgotten his wallet. While the two were in front of the house, appellant appeared with a Tech 9 machine gun in his hand. He ordered the two into the house. Once inside, appellant asked if anyone else was there. Edwin Knight revealed that his brother, Emory Knight, was also present. Appellant and Edwin Knight went upstairs leaving Simpson on the first floor. When they returned, Emory Knight was with them. No words were spoken by them. All four then went into the first floor bedroom. The two brothers sat on the bed and Simpson stood in the doorway. Appellant asked where was his shit and Edwin Knight replied that he did not have it all right now. Appellant directed Edwin Knight to open a safe near the bed. When he did, it appeared to contain crack cocaine, marijuana, and money. When the items were handed to appellant, he exclaimed, That's not all my shit, I know you got more. About that time Russell Jackson knocked on the front door. Appellant ordered him into the bedroom at gun point, and then ordered the three men onto the bed and directed them to stack themselves three high. As appellant stood in front of the bed, Simpson backed away and began praying. Appellant began to shoot everybody on the bed. Simpson, after witnessing these events, ran from the house, caught a cab and went home. As she fled down the street, she saw the Nissan parked at a nearby corner. The shooting was heard by Malik Hopkins who was visiting a neighbor who lived on Knight's block. Hopkins then heard some one running very fast down the street and a car door slam. He went to a window and saw a gold Nissan Maxima back up quickly and then zoom away. Meanwhile Edwin Knight, though shot, called the police. Upon their arrival, officers noted that he appeared lost as he sat on the bed. Asked who had shot him, Edwin Knight whispered, Myra, gave police a telephone number, and pointed to an address book containing Jamyra Simpson's whispered telephone number. While being questioned later in his hospital bed, Edwin Knight told police officers that a man was with Simpson during the shooting. Many bullets, fragments and shell casings were recovered from the bed area. Emory Knight and Jackson died of their wounds soon after being shot. Edwin Knight died some weeks later in the hospital. Bullets and fragments were recovered from the bodies of Jackson and Emory. The casings and bullets were matched to a machine gun that was subsequently recovered from among appellant's possessions. Bullets matching the murder weapon were also found in Edwin's hospital bed as he lay unconscious, apparently having worked their way out of his wounds. The day after the shooting Wiseman called Simpson and told her that after appellant left the Knights' house and returned to the car he said that was his high, that's how he gets off, on blowing his clip on niggers [sic]. The next day appellant and Wiseman appeared uninvited at Simpson's home. There appellant told Simpson, that he didn't mean for it to happen like that and ... as long as [Simpson did not] talk to [the] police everything [was] going to be okay. In referring to a news account that Edwin had survived the shooting, appellant said, he was going to get whoever it was [who] didn't die. Three days after the shooting, appellant and Wiseman went unannounced to Simpson's mother's house. Appellant's expressed purpose was to take Simpson to where he hung [out] at and where his mother live[d] so that [Simpson] had no reason to be scared of him. The three drove off. At one point, appellant stopped, got out of the car, and spoke with someone who went into a house and returned with the gun that appellant had used on December 18. Ms. Simpson was arrested on December 28, by Maryland police and subsequently charged in the District of Columbia with the three murders. Upon her arrest, she first denied knowing of the three murders, but then gave an incomplete written account of them to both Maryland police and FBI agents. Simpson entered into a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary, and the murder charges were dismissed. As a government witness, she acknowledged on cross-examination the foregoing plea. On redirect examination, she explained that she had told Maryland police of appellant's involvement in the murders prior to making the plea agreement.