A man has been convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in a Virginia Square apartment last year.
The gruesome crime happened around 5 a.m. on June 19, 2023, at the Terwilliger Place apartments at 3445 Washington Blvd.
Alimamy Fornah was living with Shontae Crawford, with whom he had been in a relationship for at least 12 years, according to prosecutors and local TV reports. Crawford, 37, was pregnant with the child of her new boyfriend, Michael Webb, loved ones told WUSA 9.
Prosecutors say Webb was visiting from out of town and staying in a separate bedroom, when he “heard [Crawford] scream followed by guttural sounds.” He ran into her bedroom and found Fornah nude and Crawford bleeding profusely from a “gaping wound to her neck.”
Webb told WUSA 9 that he punched Fornah in the face and tried to escape from the third-floor apartment with Crawford. She collapsed on the second floor while Webb went to the ground floor to let police in, having called 911 during the escape, according to prosecutors.
Police tried to save Crawford but she was pronounced dead on scene. She was later found to have “at least three distinct cutting wounds to her throat and 22 defensive wounds to both of her hands.” Fornah was arrested and a kitchen knife covered in Crawford’s blood was recovered by investigators, prosecutors said.
Fornah was convicted after a three-day trial and one day of deliberations by an Arlington jury. He faces 20 years to life in prison on the charge of first-degree murder.
“Our hearts go out to Ms. Crawford’s family, both for their loss and the trauma they endured as they were forced to relive Shontae’s last agonizing moments in the courtroom,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in a statement. “As always, I am deeply grateful to the jurors for their service. Few people will ever have to confront the facts, images, and footage they had to confront. Our entire community owes them an immense debt of gratitude for their courage in bearing witness and doing justice in Shontae’s name.”
Fornah was previously arrested in 2013 and charged with abducting a woman and her then four-year-old son. Family members told WUSA 9 that the victim in that case was Crawford and her son, who was 15 years old at the time of his mother’s death. They described Crawford’s relationship with Fornah as abusive.
Fornah may soon face another trial. While in jail for the murder he was charged with raping Crawford on May 9, 2023, according to prosecutors and court records. He’s next due in court for that charge on July 8.
