Prosecutors allege Demetrius Beatty killed Khamyah Honesty after earlier threats and then blamed another child for the infant’s injuries.

WASHINGTON, DC — A 40-year-old Washington man is charged with first-degree felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children in the death of a 2-month-old twin who authorities say suffered fatal blunt-force injuries while she and four other children were in his care.

Demetrius Beatty was arrested Sept. 16 in connection with the Aug. 16 death of Khamyah Honesty in Southeast Washington. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said Beatty had been left at a residence with the infant twins and three other minor children. Prosecutors allege the death followed escalating conflict inside the household after Beatty learned another man was the twins’ biological father. Beatty has not been convicted, and the charges against him remain allegations.

The case began shortly before 10 p.m. Aug. 16, when Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to an apartment in the 800 block of New Jersey Avenue Southeast for a report of an unconscious infant. Police said officers found Khamyah unresponsive and suffering from blunt-force injuries. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services took her to a hospital, where she later died. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined two days later that she had died from blunt-force trauma and ruled the death a homicide.

Court-record reporting describes a far more complicated account of what happened inside the home before officers arrived. Prosecutors allege Beatty told a 911 operator that his 6-year-old son, who is nonverbal and autistic, had hurt Khamyah. According to the records, Beatty said he believed the older child had gotten to the infant while Beatty was away from her. His defense later advanced the position that the 6-year-old was responsible for the injuries, arguing in court that Beatty’s decision to call for emergency help was inconsistent with the prosecution’s accusation that he had attacked the baby.

Medical evidence described in the court-record reporting became central to the government’s response. Khamyah had several serious injuries to her head and face, and a forensic pathologist concluded that the pattern and severity of those injuries could not have been caused by the 6-year-old as Beatty claimed, according to the records. The official Justice Department announcement did not provide that level of medical detail, but it said an autopsy found multiple blunt-force injuries to the head and determined the manner of death was homicide.

Investigators also focused on what prosecutors described as changing explanations from Beatty. The infant’s mother said he initially told her that he had stepped into a hallway to make a telephone call and returned to find Khamyah bleeding. Another account blamed the 6-year-old for tossing or moving the infant. A later version added that Beatty had been playing ball with other children before going into the hallway and returning to find Khamyah injured. The mother described the explanations as inconsistent, according to the court-record reporting.

Those accounts were examined alongside allegations of tension over the twins’ parentage. Prosecutors contend Beatty had been deeply upset after learning that another man, who was incarcerated, was their biological father. Beatty and the twins’ mother had other children together and continued to live in the same household, according to the reporting, although they were no longer in a romantic relationship. The mother said Beatty had cared for the twins as if they were his own, but she also described statements that she regarded as threats against them.

One alleged threat came shortly before Khamyah’s death. According to the court records cited in news reports, the mother said Beatty warned that the twins would be dead if she left to visit their biological father. Prosecutors have pointed to the alleged statement as part of their account of the events leading up to the homicide. The accusation has not been proved at trial, and authorities have not said publicly that a jury or judge has made a final finding about Beatty’s alleged motive.

Investigators also learned about earlier episodes involving the twins. Sixteen days before Khamyah’s death, the infant went down a Metro escalator while in or near a car seat, according to the court-record reporting. The mother said Beatty described the incident as an accident, but medical workers who treated the baby reportedly raised questions about that explanation. The episode did not itself establish who was responsible for the later homicide, but prosecutors cited it while describing concerns that existed before the fatal encounter.

Another allegation involved the twins being put in a closet while Beatty was caring for them. The mother said he had placed the infants there, while a relative of the twins’ biological father told investigators that the babies had been locked inside, according to reports based on court records. Beatty allegedly responded dismissively when questioned about the incident. The same relative had contacted the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency several times during the two months before Khamyah’s death because of concerns about the children’s safety, the records say.

Separate reporting based on the case records said officers described troubling conditions when they entered the residence. The apartment was reportedly cluttered and dirty, and other children in the home were found with health or injury concerns, including the surviving twin, who reportedly had a severe diaper rash, and a 1-year-old who had a healing burn. Those observations broadened the investigation beyond the single question of how Khamyah received her fatal injuries. The surviving children were later taken into the care of the District’s child-welfare system, according to published reports.

Police initially announced Khamyah’s death as an active homicide investigation on Aug. 19. At that time, detectives said only that the case had “domestic overtones” and that the Special Victims Unit was working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Nearly a month later, members of the Capitol Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Beatty on a D.C. Superior Court warrant. The Justice Department described Beatty as a District resident, while police said he had no fixed address at the time of his arrest.

Beatty made his initial court appearance Sept. 17 before D.C. Superior Court Judge Dorsey Jones. The Justice Department said Jones found probable cause on the first-degree felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children charges and ordered Beatty held without bond pending further proceedings. A finding of probable cause is not a finding of guilt. Prosecutors must still prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt if the case proceeds to trial, and Beatty is entitled to challenge the government’s evidence and present a defense.

The Metropolitan Police Department said its Special Victims Unit continued investigating Khamyah’s death in coordination with federal prosecutors. The publicly available official releases reviewed for this report do not announce a final disposition of the charges. Beatty is presumed innocent unless and until he is proved guilty in court.

Author note: Last updated November 7, 2026.