Man kills girlfriend in hotel room, then sleeps with her body at foot of bed, feds say

A man is going to prison after he was convicted of strangling and fatally beating his girlfriend in Washington D.C., federal officials said.

In February, William Barrett, 69, went to a hotel with his girlfriend, Romaine Maddox, 36, to celebrate her birthday, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.

Hotel security footage showed Maddox “ecstatic to celebrate her birthday at the hotel, entering their room, where they spent the next several hours,” officials said.

Barrett later told investigators that the two got into a fight and it turned physical, officials said.

Camera audio captured what sounded like a woman saying, “Get off me!” and “Help,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Barrett said the two got into an argument that turned physical with him saying, “She was running her mouth and hit me,” the documents said.

Then he wrapped his belt around her neck and strangled her, the documents said.

Around 10 minutes later, Maddox regained consciousness and began yelling for help, the affidavit said.

That’s when he grabbed a ceramic toilet tank cover from the bathroom and hit Maddox over the head, causing the lid to break, officials said.

Then he went to sleep with her body at the foot of the bed, officials said.

In the morning, he woke up, saw she was unresponsive, and left the room, the release said.

Hours later, her body was found by hotel staff, officials said.

Barrett, of Mount Holly, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed on Aug. 23, the release said.

On Oct. 25, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release, officials said.

This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 10:17 AM with the headline "Man kills girlfriend in hotel room, then sleeps with her body at foot of bed, feds say."