A man charged with rape and later released on bond over coronavirus fears allegedly shot and killed his accuser last week in Virginia.
Ibrahim E. Bouaichi, 33, was indicted on charges of rape, strangulation, and abduction and jailed without bond following victim Karla Dominguez’s testimony in court in December, according to the Washington Post.
The report continued:
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Ibrahim E. Bouaichi’s lawyers argued that the virus was a danger to both inmates and their attorneys, and that Bouaichi should be freed awaiting trial. On April 9, over the objections of an Alexandria prosecutor, Circuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins released Bouaichi on $25,000 bond, with the condition that he only leave his Maryland home to meet with his lawyers or pretrial services officials.
In their motion for bond, the suspect’s lawyers said “social distancing and proper disinfecting measures are impossible while incarcerated.… Simply put, the risk of contracting Covid-19 in a jail is exceedingly obvious.”
Despite the order for him to stay at home, Bouaichi allegedly returned to Dominguez’s apartment and shot and killed her on July 29.
In a press release Wednesday, the Alexandria Police Department announced the suspect had been taken into custody:
At approximately 11 a.m. today, Alexandria police officers attached to the FBI’s regional Violent Crimes Task Force observed Bouaichi in Maryland and initiated a vehicle pursuit that ended shortly thereafter when Bouaichi’s vehicle crashed in Prince George’s County. Officers approaching the vehicle found Bouaichi with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to a hospital, where he is currently receiving medical treatment.
A GoFundMe account was later set up to help pay for Dominguez’s funeral costs and has so far raised $5,035 of its $7,000 goal.
“All of her family lives in Venezuela, I was able to make her part of my family. She was someone very important to me, my family and the people around her. Any help for her memorial would be greatly appreciated,” the page’s organizer wrote.
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