Family of 70-year-old man beaten to death in DC speaks out after suspect arrested
WASHINGTON - The family of a man brutally beaten to death in D.C. spoke exclusively to FOX 5 Thursday after D.C. police announced the arrest of a suspect.
The family of 70-year-old Maurice Rowe is relieved. His brother has been anxiously waiting for D.C. police to arrest the suspect.
D.C. police tell FOX 5 that 70-year-old Morris Stokes beat Rowe several times with a steel rebar pole on the 1400 block of Downing Street, NE, in August 2024.
Medics drove Rowe to the hospital with serious injuries after police found him laying on the ground, bleeding from his head and cuts on his legs.
Sadly, Rowe died weeks later. The medical examiner ruled he died from blunt force trauma and the manner of death was homicide.
According to court documents, surveillance video captured the two men talking and then Stokes beat Rowe with the pole. Detectives arrested Stokes last week.
Rowe’s brother says he’s thankful that an arrest was finally made.
"I’m glad that they have somebody in custody and I hope that everything works out. That it gets squared away. Because my biggest problem is, why did you have to beat him with a rebar? He was savagely beaten. He had five gashes…in his skull, two of which we had stables used and both of his legs were broken," Joseph Rowe said.
Joseph Rowe says what he misses most about his brother is his sense of humor.
"It was real dry," Joseph said.
Morris Stokes has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and detectives are working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to pursue more charges against Stokes.
The Source: D.C. Police Department, FOX 5 reporting