Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – District resident Anthony Crawford, 23, was arrested Wednesday night at a park and charged with stabbing Wendy Martinez, 35, to death Tuesday at 8 p.m, while she was jogging in the Logan Circle neighborhood according to police. Crawford is charged with 1st degree murder while armed.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said surveillance video – released to the public Wednesday – and tips were key to finding Crawford.
Crawford’s not cooperating with police, according to Newsham, and was taken to the hospital to be treated for an injury on his hand.
Police don’t think Crawford knew Martinez or was trying to rob her, and the motive remains unknown.
“This is a very isolated instance. You don’t see crimes like this very much even during the course of my career, so it’s a very unlikely thing that occurred here at this intersection,” Newsham said in a press briefing at the corner of 11th and P Streets NW where Martinez was stabbed.
After the stabbing, Martinez made it into a Chinese carryout restaurant where people inside, including a nurse, tried to save her. She was taken to a hospital where she died.
Newsham said they are looking at Crawford’s past to see if there is any indication that he would carry out this type of violent crime. He did have a criminal record, but, so far, there are no indications that he had previously committed any violent crimes, according to Newsham.
The community and Martinez’s family and friends are in shock. The tech executive and avid jogger just got engaged last week according to her friends.
“Wendy should have been shopping for her wedding dress on Friday,” her friend Kristina Moore said through tears.
Moore described Martinez as beautiful and brilliant. She said Martinez loved her neighborhood. She lived two blocks from where she was stabbed to death and felt safe there according to Moore.
A vigil is planned for 7 Thursday night at Logan Circle to remember Martinez.
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Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: DC Police/ WMAL’s Heather Curtis)
