Mother opens up to FOX 5 about son's murder at Deanwood Metro station, says she forgives suspect
WASHINGTON - An 18-year-old accused of killing another teenager at the Deanwood Metro station on Monday has been charged with second-degree murder. Police say Javonte Hall stabbed 15-year-old John Evans III following a dispute and fight. Hall appeared in D.C. court Tuesday and is being held without bond.
A day after Evans' death, his mother opened up about the loss of her son with FOX 5.
Evans turned 15 years old back in January. His mother said they moved from D.C. to Richmond, Va., because she was seeing a change in his attitude.
On Monday afternoon, detectives knocked on Terogie Wills' door and told her the devastating news. Her firstborn child was killed just three days after she gave birth to her fourth child.
Wills' husband was supposed to pick up Evans from court, but the teenager decided to take the Metro instead.
"I had heard about it a little earlier and I had seen the police down the street," Wills recalled. "I just had this bad feeling. Just had a bad feeling. When he left in the morning to go to court, he hugged and kissed me. He was like he'll be back because I was sick in the bed because I wasn't feeling too good from just having a baby. I guess I was doing too much."
She said her son was allegedly killed by a man who had previous run-ins with Evans and his 13-year-old sister.
"The boys, I guess from Kenilworth, had attacked him, jumped my daughter, some males and females a few months ago. And so, it was just leading on to different altercations," she said. "[Hall] had approached my daughter two weeks ago, him and his friends was throwing juice on her and saying how they wanted to jump him - him and his friend wanted to jump my son."
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine spoke to the community Tuesday night about what seems to be a recent uptick in juvenile crime in the District.
"When kids are not functioning well or being supervised well at home and are not attending school, they are going to be subject to criminal behavior," said Racine. "So I think that is what is going on and that is why it is so critical for us to get services over to those kids in the areas where they need it."
Just hours after the homicide at the Metro station, police arrested Hall, who turned 18 years old last summer.
Since legally becoming an adult, he has already been arrested four times, which includes an alleged assault on a Metro Transit Police officer who was attempting to remove a knife from his possession.
The victim's mother said she has to forgive Hall in order to move on.
"I forgive him," she told us. "I can't hold no hatred in my heart for him because I'm not going to be able to get through it if I do, so I forgive him. I just hope he realizes what he has done to us."
Metro Transit Police will remain at the Deanwood station for days to come as this was the second homicide in just two weeks.