Demetrius Beatty, 40, Arrested for Homicide of 2-month-old Khamyah Honesty
Thursday, September 17, 2026
The Metropolitan Police Department announces the arrest in the homicide of an infant in Southeast.
On Sunday, August 16, 2026, at approximately 9:47 p.m., First District officers responded to the report of an unconscious infant at an apartment in the 800 block of New Jersey Avenue, Southeast. Upon arrival, officers located an unresponsive female infant suffering from blunt force injuries. DC Fire and EMS responded to the scene and transported the infant to an area hospital where she later died.
On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for D.C. ruled the cause of death to be blunt force trauma and the manner of death to be homicide.
The infant has been identified as 2-month-old Khamyah Honesty, of Southeast, DC.
On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant, members of the Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force located and arrested 40-year-old Demetrius Beatty, of no fixed address. Beatty has been charged with First-Degree Felony Murder and First-Degree Cruelty to Children.
Detectives quickly identified that the incident had domestic overtones. Detectives from the Special Victims Unit of MPD’s Homicide Branch continue to actively investigate Khamyah’s death in coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office.
CCN: 26115580
Stepfather in 2-Month-Old’s Death Arrested and Charged
Thursday, September 17, 2026
WASHINGTON – Demetrius Beatty, 40, of the District of Columbia, was arrested and charged with first-degree felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children for the August 16 death of a two-month-old child in his custody, in Southeast, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Beatty made his initial appearance September 17 before Superior Court Judge Dorsey Jones. Judge Jones found probable cause that Beatty committed the offenses and ordered him to be held without bond pending a preliminary hearing on September 28, 2026, before Judge J. Michael Ryan.
According to court documents, on August 16, 2026, Beatty was left with two of his stepchildren, two-month-old twins, alone in his residence with three other minor children. Officers responded to 809 New Jersey Avenue Southeast and located a two-month-old child unconscious and unresponsive. An autopsy was done on the baby where it was determined that her cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries to the head and the manner of death was homicide.
Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery W. Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case is being investigated by the Special Victims Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Charges in a complaint are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.