ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A rape suspect released from jail during the coronavirus returned to Virginia and allegedly killed his accuser, police said.
Ibrahim E. Bouaichi, 33, was indicted in December on rape, sodomy, strangulation, abduction and burglary charges and was jailed without bond in Alexandria, The Washington Post reported. His accuser, Karla Elizabeth Dominguez, testified that she was raped in her apartment in October, the newspaper reported.
But after the pandemic hit, Bouaichi’s lawyers argued that the virus was a danger and were able to obtain his release April 9 on $25,000 bail, the newspaper reported. Bouaichi was ordered to remain in his Maryland home except to meet with his lawyers or pretrial officials, according to the Post.
According to police, Bouaichi returned to Alexandria on July 29 and fatally shot Dominguez outside her apartment, the newspaper reported.
ICYMI: Police say that a rape suspect who was released from jail in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Ibrahim E. Bouaichi, went on to kill the woman who had accused him.
— ABC 7 News - WJLA (@ABC7News) August 7, 2020
STORY: https://t.co/Raz4f9wPpH pic.twitter.com/4e5cMZoMf8
On Wednesday, Alexandria police, assigned to the FBI’s regional Violent Crimes Task force, spotted Bouaichi in Prince George’s County, Maryland, WJLA reported. When authorities gave chase, Bouaichi crashed the car he was driving, the television station reported. Police found Bouaichi inside the vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted wound and he was transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in grave condition Thursday, according to the Post.
Circuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins, who approved Bouaichi’s release, retired from the bench and did not respond to the newspaper’s request for comment.
Bouaichi’s attorneys, Manuel Leiva and Frank Salvato, said in a statement that they were “certainly saddened by the tragedy both families have suffered here.”
The lawyers added that they “were looking forward to trial. Unfortunately, the pandemic continued the trial date by several months and we didn’t get the chance to put forth our case.”
Dominguez, a native of Venezuela, did not have relatives in the United States, the Post reported. A GoFundMe page was launched after Dominguez’s death to pay funeral expenses, but the organizer did not respond to messages seeking comment, the newspaper reported.
Cox Media Group
