Rape suspect freed due to COVID-19 went on to kill his accuser, Virginia police say
A Virginia rape suspect is accused of killing his accuser after he went free from jail due to the risks of COVID-19 to the inmate population, media outlets report.
Ibrahim Bouaichi, 33, is charged with murder in the death of Karla Elizabeth Dominguez Gonzalez in Alexandria, police say. She was found shot to death on July 29.
In December, Gonzalez had testified that Bouaichi was violent and not consensual during an October incident inside her apartment, The Washington Post reported. He was charged with rape, strangulation and abduction, and was jailed without bond while awaiting trial, the newspaper reported.
Bouaichi went free from jail due to the COVID-19 pandemic when his attorneys argued in April that the virus was a danger to inmates and lawyers, WJLA reported. The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office said he went free on April 9, with a judge “ordering him not to leave his Maryland home unless meeting with his lawyers or court officials,” the news outlet reported.
After he allegedly killed Gonzalez, Bouaichi left the scene and was considered “armed and dangerous,” police said in announcement seeking help in finding him.
Alexandria officers in an FBI violent crimes task force found Bouaichi in Maryland on Wednesday and chased his vehicle until he crashed a short time later, police say. He was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound when the officers went to the vehicle, police say.
He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.
On Thursday, he was reported to be in “grave condition,” according to The Washington Post.
