Homicide investigation leads to building evacuation in Glover Park; man arrested

WASHINGTON - A woman was killed and a man has been arrested after a stabbing and bomb scare at a Northwest D.C. condominium.

D.C. police received a call for a suspicious package at a building on Tunlaw Road just after 6 a.m. Friday. When officers arrived, they found a man covered in blood and a woman dead inside his apartment. The building was then evacuated as officers conducted a search.

Police said they have arrested a 59-year-old man for the murder of a woman inside his apartment on the fifth floor of this building just down the street from the Russian Embassy.

The suspect has been identified as Charles Sykes, who was living in a unit owned by the non-profit group Anne Frank House, which provides permanent housing for homeless men and woman with chronic mental illness. Online property records show Sykes has lived at this address since 2000.

As a precaution, residents were kept out of the building for over three hours as police conducted a search.

"The officers responded to a call for a suspicious package," said D.C. Police Commander Melvin Gresham. "Once they entered the premises, they encountered an individual covered in blood. Further investigation revealed that there was an individual inside the apartment who subsequently expired as a result of her injuries. At this time, it appears to be domestic-related and all parties involved as far as witnesses are cooperating."

But the investigation went on for hours with residents kept outside as police went through the building looking for a suspicious package. The bomb squad was called in, and according to a person with knowledge of the search, numerous packages stored behind the building's front desk had to be examined by police.

D.C. police stayed on the scene well into Friday afternoon. They have not identified the woman who was killed.

Neighbors were stunned to learn a murder had taken place inside the building.

"It's a very safe neighborhood and a wonderful building to live in and something like this to happen is just unbelievable," said one building resident.

"This is a shock," said another resident. "This is what is happening. We have always thought of this as a very nice neighborhood, but I guess things can happen anywhere."