Suspect in Slaying of Twin Girls Surrenders

A former boyfriend of one of the 15-year-old twin sisters shot to death in Inglewood this week surrendered to police Wednesday night.

Detectives were tight-lipped about the surrender, saying only that Richard Allen Washington Jr., 19, had been wanted for questioning in connection with the slayings at the girls’ home on Monday.

Police had searched for Washington throughout much of the day Wednesday, checking homes of relatives and friends in Lancaster and Altadena, to no avail. Officers described him as armed and dangerous.

Finally, at about 5:30 p.m., he walked into the Inglewood police station and gave himself up without incident. He was taken into custody, but police declined to say whether he had been booked on any counts relating to the double killing.

About 15 hours earlier, his father, Richard Sr., had been arrested on suspicion of being an accessory to the crime.

Officers patrolling northeast Pasadena spotted Richard Jr.’s sedan and pulled it to the curb on Lincoln Avenue near Mountain Street. The elder Washington was behind the wheel.

Inside the car, officers found a bag of clothing believed to belong to the younger Washington. Police suspected the father was bringing clothes to his fugitive son.

“His statement was that the suspect’s mother brought the car up here Monday night and gave it to him with no explanation,” Inglewood Police Det. Russell Enyeart said. “In fact, he denies any knowledge that his son’s even involved in anything.”

He was booked on suspicion of harboring a fugitive and criminal conspiracy and was held without bail.

Just a few hours before the slayings, police had sought the younger Washington for questioning in the alleged battery of one of the sisters at a restaurant on Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood.

Tara and Terassa Butler, sophomores at Inglewood High School, told detectives that Washington had argued with them at the restaurant shortly after noon on Monday, and that he had hit at least one of them with the cast on his right arm.

At about 4:30 Monday afternoon, after neighbors reported hearing gunshots, the twins’ bodies were found sprawled in the living room of their mother’s home in the 400 block of West Kelso Street.

Witnesses told police they had seen Washington, Tara’s ex-boyfriend, leave the home immediately after the shootings.

Police broadcast descriptions of the suspect and his car.

Friends said the twins were active students who earned good grades at Inglewood High. Tara ran track and danced at school assemblies. Terassa made the varsity cheerleading squad.

In a testament to the twins’ popularity and the esteem in which they were held, classmates erected a memorial stand of flowers and photographs at Inglewood High. Students from other schools came by to pay their respects.