Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Marriott Employee Confesses To Shooting

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested an employee at O’Donovan Hall last Tuesday after he confessed to shooting and killing his mother in their home earlier that day.

Frank Byrd, a 31-year old man, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after he confessed to shooting his mother, Shirley Byrd, in the back in their shared home in Southwest Washington, D.C., according to an MPD press release. Shirley Byrd, who was 61 years old, was declared dead later that day.

At approximately 3:20 p.m., MPD and D.C. Fire and Emergency edical Services forced entry into the Byrds’ home on Third Street, S.W. according to the release.

According to a complaint filed Wednesday in the criminal division of the D.C. Superior Court, MPD found Shirley Byrd unconscious on the living room floor near the base of the stairs with gunshot wounds to her left breast area and back. Despite attempts to revive her, she was later pronounced dead on the scene.

The complaint said that while on the scene, investigators from PD’s Violent Crimes branch learned that Shirley Byrd had a son and became suspicious of Frank Byrd when they learned that he “had not been heard from for several days.”

Darryl Harrison, director of Georgetown’s Department of Public Safety, said that Byrd confessed to the shooting to a DPS sergeant on campus at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

“He approached an officer – a sergeant – at a location on campus and turned himself in,” Harrison said.

The court statement said that MPD officers who had been dispatched to Georgetown to locate Byrd were notified en route by DPS Sgt. Earnest Parker that Byrd had confessed and was being held by DPS.

Byrd confessed that he killed his mother to the MPD officers who arrived on the scene and said that the shooting was an accident, according to the complaint. After MPD officers placed him under arrest, he agreed to lead MPD to the H-Street sewer where he had thrown the silver-colored 44-magnum revolver that he said he used to shoot his mother.

The complaint said that MPD recovered a revolver and a box of 44-caliber ammunition with six rounds missing. The revolver had six rounds, one of which had been fired, according to the complaint.

University spokesman Erik Smulson said that Georgetown performs background checks on some staff members depending on the nature of their work, but added that Byrd was a Marriott employee, not a Georgetown employee.

Byrd was a utility worker in the kitchen at O’ Donovan Hall, according to Patrick Hardy, director of hotel sales and marketing for Georgetown’s Marriott Conference Center.

“We view this as a very tragic occurrence for all involved,” Hardy said. He declined to comment further on the incident.

According to Byrd’s case jacket, he was arraigned at the D.C. Superior Court Wednesday and now faces charges for involuntary misdemeanor manslaughter while armed.

The case jacket said that Byrd was released from prison on his own recognizance and will attend a preliminary hearing on Dec. 5.

Byrd has no prior history of arrests in the District of Columbia and no history of mental illness, according to the case jacket.

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