Ex-Boyfriend Charged With Killing Twins

An 18-year-old man was charged Friday with killing 15-year-old twin sisters in their Inglewood home this week.

Richard Allen Washington III also was charged with special circumstances in the deaths of Tara and Terassa Butler, which could make him eligible for the death penalty, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Janet Moore.

The district attorney’s office will decide after a preliminary hearing whether to seek the death penalty, spokeswoman Victoria Pipkin said.

Washington, who turned 18 the day before the slayings, was also charged with two counts of assault with a force likely to produce great bodily injury because he allegedly attacked the girls with a cast he wore on his arm hours before they died, Moore said.

Tara and Terassa, sophomores at Inglewood High School, told police that Washington had argued with them and hit at least one of them shortly after noon Monday. Hours later, the twins were found dead in their home on West Kelso Street. Witnesses told police they saw Washington, Tara’s ex-boyfriend, leave the home.

Washington’s arraignment in Inglewood Municipal Court has been postponed until Tuesday, authorities said. He is being held on $500,000 bail.

His father, who had been arrested on suspicion of harboring a fugitive and criminal conspiracy, was released Thursday on his own recognizance, said Inglewood Police Lt. Eve Irvine. Authorities said they did not know if he would be charged.