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2 of 44 DOCUMENTS

The Washington Post

December 10, 1984, Monday, Final Edition

Correction Appended

Police Arrest 5 In Gang Killing Of NE Mother

BYLINE: By Mary Jordan and Alfred E. Lewis, Washington Post Staff Writers

SECTION: Metro; B1

LENGTH: 404 words

Four men and one juvenile were arrested yesterday in connection with the savage October gang slaying of a
Northeast Washington woman, bringing the number of arrests in the case to nine. That is the largest number
of arrests stemming from a single slaying in the District, police said.
Police Lt. Zelford Platt said the slaying of Catherine Fuller, 49, of 923 K St. NE, was still under investigation
and that additional arrests were "quite possible."
Fuller was brutally beaten with a blunt object in a manner that shocked even hardened police investigators.
Her body was found in a vacant garage two blocks from her home on Oct. 1, according to police reports. A
mother of six, Fuller apparently was taking a shortcut from a grocery store when she was assaulted in an
alley and dragged into the garage at 802 K St. NE.
The death of Fuller, who was described by neighbors as a "good Samaritan" and "someone always smiling,"
outraged the community and police.
"This is probably one of the most brutal murders that ever took place in Washington," Deputy Chief Alfonso
Gibson said yesterday. "And, as far we know, it involved the largest number of people arrested in a single
murder."
Investigators yesterday arrested Russell Overton, 19, of 821 9th St. NE; Timothy Catlett, 19, of the same
address; Christopher Turner, 19, 1018 11th St. NE; Levy Rouse, 19, 4427 Hayes St. NE, and a 17-year-old
juvenile whose name and address were not disclosed. All had been charged in D.C. Superior Court warrants
with felony murder, and all were being held without bond pending their arraignment today.
Robbery was the motive for the slaying, at least initially, police said. Fuller's husband, David, said his wife
could not have had more than $50 in her purse.
Previously arrested and charged with felony murder in the case were Alphonzo L. Harris, 22, of 629 14th St.
NE; Calvin L. Alston, 19, of 1115 Third St. NE, and Roland A. Franklin, 19, of 1814 Irving St. NE. Last Tues-
day, Charles S. Turner, 20, 1018 11th St. NE, became the fourth man arrested and charged in the slaying.
The nine persons arrested belonged to the same street gang, according to Patrick McGinnis, one of the de-
tectives investigating the slaying. "I hope now that . . . neighbors won't be afraid to come forward with some
information," he said. "I just can't believe that a woman got murdered at dusk and nobody saw it or knows
anything about it."

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

CORRECTION-DATE: December 12, 1984, Wednesday, Final Edition

 Page 2
Police Arrest 5 In Gang Killing Of NE Mother The Washington Post December 10, 1984, Monday, Final
EditionCorrection Appended

CORRECTION: The address of a suspect charged in an October gang slaying in northeast Washington was
listed incorrectly Monday. The correct address is 1175 Third St. NE.

Copyright 1984 The Washington Post