Arlington, Virginia- Willie Donaldson, [pictured] an Arlington resident and ex-Marine, stands accused of murder after engaging in a sexual liaison last month that went wrong.
Donaldson is charged with the Dec. 8 killing of Matthew Hicks, a 32-year old man from Sterling. Police say Hicks and his girlfriend came to Donaldson’s house in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood after Donaldson responded to a posting the couple had placed on the online classified ad Web site Craigslist.
According to court records, Hicks and his girlfriend were hired to perform an “erotic service.” The ad has since been removed from the Web site.
Donaldson’s lawyers are arguing that the killing was committed in self-defense. In a booking photo that was taken shortly after he was arrested, Donaldson is shown with a sling across his shoulder, heavy bruising on his face and dried blood on his chin. “The evidence is going to show that it was self-defense,” Jason Rucker, Donaldson’s lead attorney, said. “Without question.”
The Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office refused to comment on the details of this case.
Donaldson’s lawyers have also requested that Hicks’s bloodstream be tested for the presence of steroids such as human growth hormone, synthetic testosterone and, according to court records, “the Clear [and] the Cream,” substances that were allegedly used by several Major League Baseball players.
Rucker would not comment on what information prompted the attorneys to request a steroid test. But he did say they did not request testing for any other types of drugs.
HICKS’ murder in the early morning hours of Dec. 8 shocked the normally quiet Arlington Ridge neighborhood. Donaldson had been renting the house on the 2100 block of Arlington Ridge Boulevard in which the murder occurred. His neighbors said that he was not well known in the community.
According to court records, Donaldson works at a contracting firm based out of Crystal City that works with the military on information technology.
Representatives from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office would not say what role Hicks’s girlfriend played in the incident. But Arlington Police spokesperson Crystal Nosal said Hicks’s girlfriend did not witness the shooting.
DONALDSON’S case went before an Arlington General District Court judge on Friday, Jan. 23 for a preliminary hearing. At the hearing, Donaldson’s lawyers played a recording of the 911 call that Donaldson made shortly after the killing occurred.
Thomas Kelley, the presiding judge in the hearing, dismissed the case because, according to Rucker, the prosecutors had not met their burden of proof. The following Monday, Jan. 26, Commonwealth’s Attorneys requested and received a grand jury indictment against Donaldson.
Rucker said that it is uncommon but not unheard of for a Commonwealth’s Attorney to request an indictment after a case is dismissed in General District Court. “The prosecutor can always go and ask a grand jury to return an indictment,” he said.
Donaldson is being charged with one count of second-degree murder and one count of using a firearm while committing murder. According to court records, Donaldson was issued a concealed handgun permit in 2006. His permit was revoked earlier this month as a result of the murder charge.
Donaldson has been released from custody after paying a $53,000 bond.
