Benjamin Ashford|Man beat woman to death with ceramic toilet cover in Washington hotel, police say

A man who admitted to choking and Benjamin Ashfordbeating a woman with whom he was in a “nonexclusive romantic relationship” was charged with first-degree murder, Washington D.C. police said.

Romaine Maddox, 36, was found dead at the Ivy City Hotel in Washington D.C. at around 11:20 a.m. on Friday.

Investigators said Maddox had multiple lacerations, deformities in her head and blunt-force trauma, according to court documents.

Surveillance video revealed Maddox checked into the hotel with William Barrett, 59, at 7:20 p.m. Thursday. Barrett told investigators he had been in a “nonexclusive romantic relationship” with Maddox for a year.

Police arrested Barrett on Friday on suspicion of homicide.

Court documents state the officer who arrested Barrett saw blood on his head and face. Once Barrett was arrested, police seized his boxers, cell phone, two pairs of gloves and the suspect's shoestring as evidence. All of which had apparent blood on them, according to court records.

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Barrett became enraged and hit Maddox's face with a ceramic toilet cover, records show

Berrett told police he and Maddox were arguing when she started hitting him.

"She was running her mouth and hit me," Berrett told police.

In response, Berrett told police he choked Maddox with his belt, which was also seized as evidence.

"Barrett displayed how he accomplished this by elaborating through hand gestures that he approached the decedent from the rear while she was face down on the ground and got on top of her," states court documents. "Defendant Barrett stated that he thought he killed her at that point."

He was surprised when she began crying for help. The court document states he hit her with a closed fist to silence her.

He then became "irate," and hit her face several times with the ceramic lid of the hotel room's toilet.

Documents state the ceramic toilet bowl cover was broken into multiple pieces.

What happened?

According to court documents, this is the chain of events that was captured on CCTV from the hotel before Maddox's body was discovered Friday morning:

• Thursday, 7:20 p.m.: The couple was seen checking into the hotel, the night before Maddox's body was discovered.
• 10:21 p.m.: Maddox leaves the room completely naked and is locked out for four minutes before going back inside.
• Friday, 1:06 a.m.: No one is seen leaving or entering the room until a pillow is thrown out of it. Maddox leans out and brings it back into the room.
• 1:16 a.m.: The victim walks out only wearing a pair of underwear. A few minutes later, Barrett walks out completely naked to see where she went.
• 1:20 a.m.: Maddox walks back into the room.
• 2:17 a.m.: The suspect is seen throwing the victim's clothes and shoes out the door.
• 2:19 a.m.: A female voice is heard saying, "Get off me!" and "Help."
• 9:07 a.m.: No one is seen leaving or entering the room until Barrett steps out the door, alone.
• 11:09 a.m.: A hotel employee enters the room and leaves abruptly.
• 11:20 a.m.: Police were called to the hotel, and they found Maddox unconscious and not breathing.
• 11:28 a.m.: The victim was pronounced dead after DC Fire and EMS were called to the scene and found no signs of life.

How was Barrett arrested?

The hotel provided police with a copy of his ID and CCTV footage.

An officer who saw an alert on Barrett recognized him from a prior arrest this year and took the suspect into custody on Friday afternoon.

According to court documents, the suspect is being held without bond. He will return to court on March 11 for a preliminary hearing.

Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture.

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