A Key West jury last week convicted Stock Island resident Delmon Washington, 48, of second-degree murder, ruling that Washington had beaten his girlfriend, Latisha Alce, to death in July 2022.
Judge James Morgan presided over the trial in Key West, and will sentence Washington on March 6 at 3 p.m.
The murder investigation started with a traffic stop the night of July 22, 2022, when Key West Police Officer Andrew Litton stopped Washington’s silver Hyundai for operating with faulty equipment, including a blown tire. Officers noticed Washington was covered in blood and behaving erratically, despite having no visible injuries that would explain the blood on his body and clothing, states a press release from the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office. Washington was arrested on DUI-related charges and taken to jail while screaming that he was the “governor of death.”
Following Washington’s traffic stop and DUI arrest, 911 dispatchers received a report of a woman covered in blood at a Stock Island apartment. Deputies found Latisha Alce unresponsive with extensive injuries and blood pooled near her head. Despite attempts to resuscitate her, Alce was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner later determined Alce had died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck, and ruled the death a homicide.
The medical examiner testified that the injuries “reflected a sustained and extremely violent assault,” the press release states.
Blood and broken furniture at the apartment were evidence of a violent struggle the night of Alce’s death. Detectives also found video footage showing Washington and Alce arriving at the residence together earlier in the evening. Washington was later seen leaving the apartment alone, discarding multiple items outside, then driving away.
“Sometimes what appears to be a routine traffic stop turns out to be anything but,” said Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield, who commended Key West Police and state law enforcement officials for forensic testing.
Washington will serve every day of his sentence for second-degree murder with no chance of parole or early release given his status as a prison releasee reoffender. The designation requires longer sentences for anyone convicted of a violent crime within three years of being released from prison. Washington had been released from prison in December 2021. Alce died seven months later, in July 2022.
“Latisha Alce’s life mattered, and she deserved safety, dignity and the chance to live free from violence,” said prosecutor Colleen Dunne, who worked on the case with Mansfield and Assistant State Attorney Trey Evans.
Dunne also thanked the witnesses “who came forward and testified during what was a very emotional trial. Their willingness to share difficult testimony was essential in helping the jury understand the full scope of the violence.”
