Overview
- Prosecutors say Valencia Duke was located and arrested by the Capitol Regional Fugitive Task Force on June 3 and was charged with first-degree felony murder and two counts of first-degree cruelty to children.
- A Superior Court judge found probable cause and ordered Duke held without bond at her initial hearing on June 4.
- An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the 13-month-old girl died from dehydration with malnourishment and ruled the manner of death a homicide.
- Officers who entered the 4700 block of Southern Avenue SE on Jan. 18 found the girl decomposing and her twin brother severely dehydrated and malnourished, and charging documents describe a filthy apartment with contaminated formula, food debris, and alleged drug paraphernalia.
- The surviving twin was treated in hospital and is now in Child and Family Services Agency custody, the defendant’s lawyer said Duke is pregnant, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 11, and investigators ask anyone with information to contact police.