“We are here to hold accountable,” says prosecutor in resumption of murder trial

By Jenna Lee
– 25 September 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Murders | Shootings | Suspects | Victims |

On September 24, the parties made their opening statements in a murder and obstruction of justice trial before D.C. Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo.

Eugene Burns, 32, is charged with first-degree murder while armed, unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a firearm during a violent crime. He is accused of participating in the shooting death of 24-year-old Onyekachi Emmanuel Osuchukwu III on Nov. 14, 2015, in the 2900 block of Second Street, SE.

Burns was convicted of those charges in 2017, but the verdict was overturned in 2020 when the DC Court of Appeals ruled that the search warrants for the cellphones seized as evidence in the case were unconstitutional because they were too broad.

Burns and Tyre Allen, 24, are also accused of obstruction of justice. In 2020, the two allegedly attempted to persuade and intimidate a witness into recanting his testimony against Burns in the original murder trial.

In their opening statement, prosecutors said Burns murdered Osuchukwu, his best friend, because he wanted a bigger share of the profits from their drug business. They said Osuchukwu was visiting Washington to work for their business and Burns allegedly shot him when he arrived at Burns' mother's apartment.

“The defendant had enough of the conditions of his drug partnership,” said the prosecutor.

Prosecutors say there is evidence that Burns searched online for “How does it feel to kill someone?” days before shooting Osuchukwu. They added that he also took a quiz called “Are you capable of killing your best friend?”

Prosecutors alleged that on the day he thought the victim was coming to town, Burns texted several people about the murder, saying, “I applaud him today.”

“He not only researched how to do it, but also how it would feel,” the prosecutor said.

Prosecutors said Burns had enlisted Allen's help in previous proceedings to get a witness to recant a statement Burns had given him. Prosecutors played recorded phone conversations between Burns and Allen from jail in which they allegedly tried to get a witness to sign an affidavit that Burns had not confessed.

“We are here to hold people accountable,” the prosecutor said.

Jocelyn Wisner, Burns' attorney, said in her opening statement that there was no physical evidence linking Burns to the crime. Unidentified DNA was found under the victim's fingernails that did not point to Burns as the shooter.

According to Wisner, Burns left his mother's apartment before the shooting occurred, but investigators failed to follow up on other leads because they were firmly convinced that Burns was the shooter.

“The [prosecution] “I saw a simple story that was not supported by any evidence,” Wisner said.

Wisner argued that the witness, who claims he was pressured to sign a false affidavit, is “unreliable” and “cannot come clean with his story.” She said Allen was homeless in 2015 and told police that Burns murdered the victim because he wanted the reward money for providing information.

The parties will meet again on September 25.