Police File 1st Degree Murder Charge After Finding Deceased Man At St. Elizabeths Hospital

WASHINGTON, DC — Homicide detectives arrested 28-year-old Charles Lee of Southeast in connection with the death of a 65-year-old man who was found suffering from apparent trauma Wednesday morning at St. Elizabeths Hospital, according to a police release.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department's Seventh District were called around 3:38 a.m. for the report of unconscious person in the 1100 block of Alabama Avenue, Southeast. They found 65-year-old David Dowdell of Southeast unconscious and unresponsive in the secure area of the hospital.

After determining that Dowdell had died, D.C. Fire and EMS transported him to the Office of the Chief Medical Office.

Police charged Lee with first degree murder.

Both Dowdell and Lee had recently been transferred to St. Elizabeths from the D.C. Jail for court-ordered psychological evaluation, according to NBC News4.