UPDATED: Police Investigating Hall’s Hill Deaths as Homicide

Columns

by ARLnow.com — August 8, 2012 at 11:40 am 8,950 98 Comments

(Updated at 8:55 p.m.) Arlington County Police confirmed today that they’re investigating the deaths of two men in a Hall’s Hill apartment as a double homicide.

Initially classified as “suspicious deaths” yesterday, police now say that they believe Arlington resident Keefe Spriggs, 59, and Carl Moten, 31, were murdered inside the apartment on the 1900 block of N. Culpeper Street.

No weapon was found inside the apartment, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Still, police are not saying whether a killer is on the loose. Instead, Sternbeck says the crime was an “isolated incident” and that local residents should not be worried about further violence.

Spriggs was a divorced father of two who worked in a body shop, WJLA’s Jennifer Donelan reported Wednesday evening. Moten, a cook at a restaurant in Falls Church, was an acquaintance of Spriggs and was staying at his apartment.

Both Spriggs and Moten had criminal records in Arlington, including DWI and eluding police for Spriggs, assault and probation violation for Moten, and possession of cocaine for both. Spriggs’ crimes dated back to 2003, however, and Sternbeck said so far there’s no indication of any other crime taking place inside the apartment other than the two killings.

After going more than two years without a homicide, these murders are the third and fourth homicide in Arlington so far this summer.

Photo courtesy WJLA/ABC 7

E

hey ben
- that guy
  
  ??
- Ben
  
  hi
- barryballston
  
  the two of us need look no more.
Old Halls Hiller

Hmmm, I used to live on the Hill, and I don’t remember the neighborhood ever being “rough.” Pardon me, I grew up in somewhere completely different. I remember meeting Pooh around three years ago, so naturally I feel bad for his family and friends who are suffering from this, along with the other gentleman. I do want to say, it is important for young people in Arlington to “stay in the know” and to understand what is going on around them. As far as neighborhood development etc. The person who made the comment regarding Halls Hill trying to maintain their culture and history, I agreee, it’s wonderful! However, that will ONLY continue if the following generations continue with the same tenacity as their ancestors.

Rest in Peace to the victims
and God Bless to their families
- GK
  
  Agreed that Hall’s Hill is not a rough neighborhood. It’s a historically black neighborhood with a rich tradition of which Arlington residents should be proud.
  
  It doesn’t matter whether the victims had “priors.” A man’s life is not the sum of his worst acts. I knew Carl a long time ago, and he was a well-liked guy who is obviously missed by many friends and family. Let’s be respectful.
  - Katharine
    
    I like that neighborhood, especially at Christmastime — the lights and decorations are something to be proud of.
    
    Hoping for an update on why police say we shouldn’t feel unsafe. There are kids and parks there– specifics are needed so parents can make informed decisions.
    
    Could ARLnow please ask the families or neighbors for regular photos?
    - Tabby_TwoTone
      
      +1–or not include the mug shots. They are the victims.
      - bob
        
        those aren’t mugshots.
      - WeiQiang
        
        When the comment was originally made, this ArlNow post used mugshots from prior arrests of the victims.
Not Me

To the victims, rest in Peace. To the families, my condolences.
South Awwlington

I hate to ask the question but they both had priors I assume?
- South Awwlington
  
  Duh, next time I will read twice before posting. Sorry!
- bum
  
  No need to assume. It’s there in the article.
- Nate
  
  What led you to that assumption?
  - Vision Quest
    
    probably the mugshots
Crystal lite and vodka

I think it’s disrespectful to show mugshots of the victims that are 8 years old given the circumstances here. Regardless of whether or not their deaths are linked to their prior (or current) criminal activity, the readers of this blog don’t need to see dated mug shots of the deceased. It’s gratuitious and irrelevant.

I hope justice prevails for the sake of their families.
- novasteve
  
  I agree. It’s better to not show any picture than a mugshot if that’s all you got. No indication of them having done any wrongdoing here.
  - Hank
    
    My God, I agree with you!
- MC 703
  
  Agreed. I cringed when I saw it. If it was my family member, I’d be outraged and very upset.
- Tre
  
  take em down
- speonjosh
  
  +1
  
  (But if it’s sensationalism you’re after, well, then of course, by all means keep em up….)
  
  (PS The disclaimer ain’t enough.)
  - Scott
    
    Yup
Inquisistive

“Arlington County mugshots of the two victims are published above, but the photos should not be construed as suggesting that either is suspected of a crime.”

Then why the hell are you posting them???? Get out of here and have some respect for the families that lost their loved ones! It’s a clear indication that it’s being assumed that they were “guilty” of something….How dare you minimize the fact that they were murdered!!!! No respect!
- drax
  
  Mug shots should never be presumptions of guilt though.
Really???

Mugshots??? Criminal History??? These two men were murdered. Have some respect for them, there families, and friends. Nothing they have done justifies them being murdered. Concentrate more on finding the killer and less on trying to make these victims look bad.
- ARLnow.com
  
  Several TV stations reported that the men had criminal histories. Readers speculated about it in the comments section. We wanted to put an end to the speculation and provide some context to the TV reports. Because the photos were available and did not otherwise show jail uniforms or logos, we decided to run them while emphasizing in several places that the men were not suspected of crimes. We have the utmost sympathy for the victims and their families and we hope that our article can help bring attention to the facts and end speculation. We hope to provide additional background on the lives of victims if and when that information becomes available.
  - Really???
    
    I still say if that was the only photo you had, dont put one up.
  - South Arl
    
    They don’t show jail uniforms, but they’re CLEARLY mugshots!
  - Chris B
    
    Bad call, ARLnow.
    
    These are terrible photo’s — not something I would want to remember a loved one by. Why use a mugshot?! If you don’t have a decent photo of these guys, use a photo of the crime scene or something.
  - speonjosh
    
    Yeah, nice try.
  - Pentagon City
    
    These photos are very clearly mugshots (even without visible jail uniforms, etc.) and are absolutely disrespectful to these victims and their families. If those were the only photos available to you, then don’t show any at all. I truly enjoy the reporting on this site most of the time but this is highly disappointing and, once again, utterly disrespectful.
  - VC
    
    Scott, you did the right thing. It may help in the investigation.
  - Taylor
    
    I may be in the minority here, but I appreciate the extra amounts of information that your site gives on Arlington news, compared to other media outlets… and that includes these mugshots.
- Glebe Roader
  
  Is it ARLnow.com who should be concentrating on finding the killer? Or, should they concentrate on posting the information they have and the police should concentrate on trying to find the killer(s)?
  - Really???
    
    You are right, the police should concentrate on finding the killer. But is the only information that Arlnow.com has on these 2 men negative? I knew both of these men and I know that there is a lot of positive that could be said about both of them. Wonder why Arlnow.com chose not to say anything positive?
    - CW
      
      Probably because positive information isn’t listed in easily searchable county databases?
- ask;mf;lgfmw;g
  
  I am one of Pooh’s kids..
  I don’t feel as though it was very respectful to include his past, his criminal records and mugshots. Show some respect for the grieving family. At my age, having to hear that your father has been MURDERED its really tough at age 13. Searching his name and finding this article having his mugshots and what not, He was murdered come on.
PLinARL

I agree with the prior comments – posting those dated mug shots is extremely disrespectful to the victims of this horrible crime. Take them down, please!
- The Gov..
  
  ArlNow…. They have no problems editing or deleting your comments, but will put up Mug Shots of dead people to increase page hits… This website is turning into TMZ…
  - CrayNbrain
    
    You say that like it’s a bad thing. 😉
  - Scott
    
    but we keep coming back so it must be working –for them anyway
South Arl

I see that others have said this already, but I’d also like to ask that the mugshots be taken down. It’s rather unkind to post mugshots of murder VICTIMS. If mugshots are all you have, then it’d be better to post no pictures at all.
- SMCI HG
  
  Take them down and remove criminal histories. All news outlets should. I say it here b/c its the only news site I have an account to comment on.
  
  I got a DUI in 2005 and would hate for that to show up in news stories if I was murdered because it is CLEARLY UNRELATED.
Inquisistive

@ARLNOW.com, the bottm line is this, you wanted to be the first to post something that other media sources HAVE NOT!

There are some situations where while you’re doing your job you should consider what is morally right! These people’s families are SUFFERING and people have asked that the “dated” mugshots be removed…..What if it was your family member?????
Rich

Let’s think about this…. Two CRIMINALS were shot dead and the police believe this is an “isolated” incident. Drug related??
- Really???
  
  Two Criminals??? Criminals are behind bars. These men were not.
- Inquisistive
  
  This is the point that’s being made because they had a prior arrest record and their mugshots were put up it minimizes what the focus should be and that is the fact that they were MURDERED!!! If they were criminals they would be in jail and they were not! Drugs? So that’s your assumption? Why because of their past and they were black??? IGNORANT
JGreen

I think a lot of you people need to lighten up and stop being self-appointed advocates for the victims and families. You have no skin in this game.

The information in this article is just painting in more of the picture of this crime. When it all comes into view, then you can pass your judgements on this blog. Or start your own.
- Really???
  
  Easy to say when you don’t know these men.
  - TRUTH
    
    Agreed, this is no way a family member should have there last visual perception of their loved ones as being in a mug shot that has nothing to do with the case at hand or the loss of two individuals who are no longer here & cannot speak for themselves. I also knew both of these men & every time i saw them they were always smiling not looking like the criminal that these photos & information of their prior records are exposing to the public who only know what they see.
    - ARLnow.com
      
      Please email us at [email protected]. We would be very interested in finding out more about the victims outside what is available as public record.
- Inquisistive
  
  If you don’t like people being “self-appointed advocates” don’t read what’s being written.
  
  People on this site clearly must be advocating on behalf of the victims aand families!!!! Get a life! Ignorance is no excuse!
- Inquisistive
  
  “Lighten Up”???? If your mother/father was murdered would you want people or the authorities to “lighten up”???? GTFOH
Casey

[[Still, police are not saying whether a killer is on the loose. Instead, Sternbeck says the crime was an “isolated incident” and that local residents should not be worried about further violence.]]

You hear/read phrases like that often. That’s all police code to the public and media that this was a murder that took place during a targeted criminal on criminal activity…fencing/drug deal gone bad, criminals ripping other criminals off, etc.

I think there was a break-in or home invasion elsewhere in AC a short time ago and the police told the neighbors it was an isolated incident, no need to worry about other homes getting broke into, etc.
- CW
  
  Usually, yes. But he also said that there was no indication of other crime going on in the apartment.
  - Casey
    
    They absolutely found something that made them secure enough to say it was an isolated incident.
    With that said, I’m not condoning arlnow for running the mugshots. Those photos weren’t necessary for the public to see.
    - Cookie
      
      We shall see. Help from the community and friends could be important for the police to get to the bottom of this. I think with this type of information being out there in the media, it might make it easier for people to open up and help the police.
curious george

I don’t see the harm in the photos. If these are the only ones available it could be useful if someone recognizes them and can provide any information about them over the last few days.

For example “I saw them arguing with someone monday and it sounded pretty heated”.
curious george

Also those photos don’t look any worse than my passport photo. Nothing screams “mug shot” to me at least.
Trev

I guess I’ll have to get murdered before I get any respect, huh guys?
HenryBennetXIII

Folks. Arlnow is a blog run by one person.
New media has limited journalistic standards.
- Josh S
  
  Why?
tam

I would like to know what happen. I knew Kiki. Havnt seen him in 20 yrs but he kept in touch. That’s what I will always remember. Pray that they find who did it. They are both with God now.
spaghetti

I’m glad ARLnow reported everything they knew about these guys. It’s a tragic situation and it’s possible that their priors had nothing to do with their deaths, but ARLnow’s job is to give us all of the information that they have. If I lived in the neighborhood, this information would help ally my fears of random attacks given that these guys have a criminal history with drug offenses. Let’s be realistic here, even the police already suspect that this was an isolated incident.
- Yeah, but…
  
  I agree, but we still could have done without the mugshots. It’s disrespectful.
sadden22

Who cares what kind of photos were put up, that guy is right, they don’t look any worse than passport photos and to focus on what a blog says or doesn’t say is plain ignorant. They are only reporting what they know and if you want to inlcude what great guys they were, email them and stop attacking freedom of speech. Someone knows something and if you really want to help clear anything up, talk to the police! Tragic definetly but folks don’t get murdered just because and when you choose a bad life, usually the end is jail or death. RIP brothers but please people pray for all the kids Carl left behind, they are the true victims!!
- Meg
  
  Don’t know if I’m looking at the same photos as everyone else, because these don’t look like mugshots to me. The one on the right looks like a drivers license photo and the one on the last looks like a (bad) candid. If there are better photos, I’m all for printing better ones, however; since there are people here who know the men, maybe they could forward them on?
radftmyer

OMG. really? mugshots?
Trillian

Classy, ARLNow, mugshots of murder victims.
friend

Pray…..
Resident

Take down the mugshots.
Kelly

I’m pretty sure that Keefe’s mother or sisters would hate to see this picture up here. Please be mindful that he was her last son as Jerome and Hots have both passed on. He still has sisters that may view this site and this is probably the last thing they need to worry about as they have to plan his funeral. He has neices/nephews as well that shouldn’t have to focus on this flipping picture.
BoredHouseWife

The mugshots were of poor taste.
next time put them in the black and white so at least one can think they are dmv pics.
Vision Quest

We could leave the mugshots. The background info is okay. After all, your chances of getting murdered if you have a felony arrest on your record are more than 6x as high than otherwise.
- jackson
  
  Source?
need to know

They should show carls recent photo….and maybe tell the real story about how he decided to change his life and graduated from a culinary program 5 years ago….and how he has been an not just a “cook” but a sous chef at one of the cities best restaurants and how he actually changed his life….he had a great soul….and everyone who actually knew him…loved him….we miss him….RIP Carl……..i will always be grateful i got to enjoy so many great memories with you.
Love,
chef
- ARLnow.com
  
  We would love to tell that story, please email us at [email protected].
  - Perry White
    
    I grew up with Keefe Spriggs on Hall’s Hill and our families were very close as it was that sort of neighborhood then (early 1960’s). Everyone knew each other in the neighborhood it was a village where everyone looked after each other.
    
    When were both very young between nine and twelve years old we use to play at each others homes in our back yards. I really enjoyed the times when his mother Ms. Ether Spriggs was selling dinners and the two of us would hang around to eat her great food. We would go to the grocery store occassionally and buy and dozen crabs or a whole watermelon and sit at the pinic table in the backyard at my house eat and have fun together. Keefe was always friendly and a funny guy telling jokes and he talked very fast which was funny also. At aproximately high school age our lives took different paths, mine being pretty conservative and his was sort of hanging out and having fun. I last saw Keefe on Culpeper St. earlier this year near the home his brother once lived in. I spoke to him briefly that day and I will always have memories of the two of us growing up together on Hall’s Hill. Keefe RIP
    - SMCI HG
      
      Thanks for sharing the great memories.
Terris

Please take these pictures down. Are you not taking them down because you would be admitting you should not have put them up in the first place? It is very clear from the comments on this post that very few people find this appropriate. The pictures are irrelevant. As a fellow Arlington resident, you should consider the victim’s families at this sad time. They have called Arlington home for their entire lives and these pictures and past history paint an unfavorable image of these men. Until facts like criminal history are relevant to the case, they are best left out.
- honoraryARLresident
  
  well said…well said. is this M & C’s boy? you are doing them proud and i know Pooh is your family.
Chris B

Thank you for taking down the mugshots.
- JohnB2
  
  Yes thanks!
Really???

Glad to see the mugshots are down. These pics show the Keke and Pooh Bear that I know.
- ArlRat
  
  +1
- Arlntv
  
  +1
Perry White

oops
Ethel is the correct spelling of his mother’s name
moody

what does their past records have to do with them getting murdered how bout they have kids and family you bastards
- travis moody
  
  there is no interest in portraying the black community in any sort of positive light in these threads.
  
  you are debating against pure, unadulterated ignorance.
  
  & that’s gentrification for you.
  
  these folks are transplated into arlington, & have nothing but negativity to spread, and blame to place on minorities for any and everything that goes wrong in arlington.
  
  these VICTIMS are NATIVES of arlington.
  
  where y’all from?
  - GK
    
    Agree 100%. One of the best parts of growing up in Arlington was that it was a more diverse community than many of the surrounding areas. If you grow up with people whose parents are all exactly like yours, then you end up unable to see anyone else’s point of view other than your own — and those small-minded folks are the people trying to act like the deaths of these two men are statistics in a crime wave, instead of a tragedy in the community.
Seeing it like it is

The booking pics were the legal released from ACSO. As soon as someone provided them with more updated pics, they used them. Better than using pics of their faces from the crime scene.
Lee-n-Glebe

There are still 3-4 police vehicles parked outside those apartments today. I hope this means they’re getting lots of good information from the scene and that the killer(s) time to being apprehended is growing shorter.
- birdy
  
  I overheard some old timers in the food court talking about the maintenance guy who went in. It sounded complicated I guess is a good way to put it.
  - Hootiehoo
    
    How was it complicated?
krissyarl

is there really still no update on what happened or if there is a killer still on the loose?
- ARLnow.com
  
  We have been checking in with police regularly on this. So far, no update.
JillCB

Any news on this case?

Subscribe to our mailing list