DETROIT – A woman police believe was murdered by a serial killer in Detroit 18 years ago has been identified.
Darylnn Washington was found dead on June 5, 2006, in a vacant building on Harding Street in Detroit. Police believe she had been dead for seven days before her body was found. She was unidentified for 18 years until DNA testing helped police identify her.
In April 2022, Detroit police worked with Othram to help find her identity. Othram used DNA submitted from forensic evidence to build a profile and conduct genealogy research. This helped police identify Washington and contact her family.
Police believe Washington was murdered by Shelly Andre Brooks.
Brooks was initially charged with seven counts of premeditated murder and seven counts of felony murder, according to a 2006 report from NBC News. Brooks was taken into custody on July 30, 2006, after being accused of sexually assaulting a sex worker.
Then-Detroit police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings told NBC News in 2006 that Brooks was a suspect in “very similar” deaths of seven women.
“Bully-Cummings said the string of slayings began in 1999. She said DNA evidence connects Brooks to many of the cases. The victim of the June rape and beating also provided police with a description. ‘We really do not believe that he would have stopped until he was caught,’ Bully-Cummings said,” NBC News reported.
NBC News listed the known victims as Sandra Davis, 53; Pamela Greer, 33; Marion Woods-Daniels, 36; Rhonda Myles, 45; Thelma Johnson, 30; Melissa Toston, 38; and Jane Doe (now identified as Washington).
Brooks was convicted of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. He was sentenced on March 29, 2007, and is serving two life sentences in a Michigan prison. The Doe Network said Brooks confessed to murdering the unidentified woman.
A photo of Washington is available on the DNA Solves website.