13-year-old who allegedly beat man to death cries in court

WASHINGTON — Hearings in the murder trial of 64-year-old Reggie Brown continued for a third day. Five teenage girls face multiple charges in connection with his death, including second-degree murder and assault with a dangerous weapon.

On Thursday, DC Police Detective Harry Singleton further testified about what happened the night of Brown's death, including an interview he conducted with one of the 13-year-old girls. During the morning arguments, the 13-year-old girl became emotional and began to cry.

At one point in his testimony, Singleton described the cellphone video that one of the girls allegedly took of the brutal attack, describing the 13-year-old girl's role in it as “the most brutal part of the murder.”

Brown's sisters, nieces and nephews have been in the courtroom in person and via WebEx since the trial began. WUSA9 spoke to his sisters after Thursday's hearing. One of them says it has been a nightmare reliving her brother's death every day this week in the courtroom.

“Every morning when I come here, I have this terrible headache,” she explained. “The way this has affected my whole family, we just want justice.”

The family told WUSA9 that Brown was the youngest of seven children and battled lupus and other health conditions.

Another of Brown's sisters says they are fighting for justice so no other family has to go through what they went through.

“Everyone is just heartbroken and we're trying to get through this,” she said. “We just don't want this to happen to another family. We're standing up not just for Reginald Brown, but for all American families.”

Hearings on the motions are scheduled to resume Friday, when another DC police detective is expected to testify.