Murder defendants are not allowed to appear in court during the “barring period.”

By Madelyn Nall
– September 26, 2024
court | Daily Stories | murders | Shoot |

A defendant charged with second-degree murder failed to appear for her felony status conference before D.C. Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan on Sept. 26. Her defense counsel said that was because she had checked into a rehabilitation program.

Vanessa Bonaparte, 32, is charged with second-degree armed murder for her alleged involvement in the death of 31-year-old Dwayne Boyd, which occurred June 22 in the 3500 block of East Capitol Street, SE.

According to court documents, Bonaparte was cited for multiple violations after he failed court-ordered drug tests. At her final hearing on September 10, Judge Maribeth Raffinan ordered Bonaparte to enter a court-sponsored drug treatment program; Investigating authorities reported that she went into treatment on September 20th.

Defense attorney Kevann Gardner asked whether Bonaparte would be allowed to leave the treatment facility to go to trial.

They answered no.

This is because Bonaparte is in a lockdown period, meaning she is not allowed to leave the facility after being admitted for treatment. In response, prosecutors agreed not to issue an arrest warrant.

Bonaparte is expected to leave treatment on October 21st.

A status hearing was scheduled for March 21.