Even though Marguerite Washington had been at Dillard University only since August, it seemed everyone on campus — including the president — knew her as a bubbly freshman nursing student who was always laughing. No one anticipated that Washington would be among the city’s latest murder victims.
“I ran to her dorm room but nobody answered,” said classmate and friend Jasmine Walker, 19. “I saw it on the news and I just broke down.”
Police on Tuesday arrested 21-year-old Jeffery Washington in the brutal murder, alleging that he fired several rounds through the bedroom window of a house in the 7700 block of Branch Drive in eastern New Orleans where Washington was sleeping with her boyfriend around 1:30 a.m. Monday.
Jeffery Washington was booked into Orleans Parish Prison on second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder charges, records show. He is not related to the victim, even though they share the same last name, family members said.
When officers arrived at the scene Monday night, Marguerite Washington was already dead, police said. Her boyfriend, Justin Alexander, 19, had also been shot several times and remained in critical condition Tuesday.
The NOPD Violent Offenders Warrants Squad began searching for Jeffery Washington late Monday after witnesses identified him. Officers found him early Tuesday at a friend’s home in the 15000 block of Duane Street.
“She was an innocent victim — a college student in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Marguerite’s brother, Kendall Washington, 38. “We had very high hopes for her.” read more…
