Young woman bleeds to death on sidewalk after man's random knife attack in Washington DC
WASHINGTON, DC: Margery Magill, 27, was fatally stabbed to death as she was walking her dog in Washington, DC on August 27. The woman was the victim of a random attack, the police said.
Magill, a native of California, was working in DC for the summer. She suffered from multiple stab wounds and bled to death on the sidewalk around 9 pm on the day. The police said the attacker, 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne, had randomly picked Magill while she was walking a dog for a family who had hired her via the Rover app. Eliyas Aregahegne, now in custody, is currently facing charges of first-degree murder while being armed.
The incident did not seem to be an attempted robbery or sexual assault case and there were no signs that he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Resident Chris Chambers, who lives on the street where the attack took place, said that he ran out after hearing someone scream and yell, "Oh no!" According to NBC4, Chambers said, "Came downstairs and came out with my wife and all we saw was a dog across the street with a leash and no human and we knew something was wrong. We looked down and we found the young lady on the sidewalk in front of our house bleeding."
Magill had recently graduated from the University of California's Davis campus and was working as a program director at The Washington Center which is an NGO that helps connect graduate students with jobs. The victim's family said she was passionate about animals and loved travel. She had visited around 22 countries which included Tanzania, Nicaragua, and Turkey.
Magill's sister Raeann Magill said, "It's absolutely tragic. I still can't wrap my head around it. You know, out walking a dog and to be attacked like that. How can anyone even fathom that? I mean, it's truly tragic and I even think to myself, why her?" Her sister also added that she loved DC and really wanted to build her career there.