Maryland Man Sentenced to 49 1/2 Years in Prison For 2016 Slaying of His Ex-Girlfriend

            WASHINGTON – Donald R. Hairston, 51, of District Heights, Md., was sentenced today to a 49 ½-year prison term for the June 2016 slaying of his ex-girlfriend at her home in Southeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Hairston was found guilty by a jury in May 2018 of first-degree murder while armed, first-degree felony murder while armed, first-degree burglary while armed, temporary protection order violation, stalking, and related firearms offenses. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Danya A. Dayson.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Saturday, June 18, 2016, at approximately 1 a.m., the victim, Stephanie Goodloe, was in bed in her three-bedroom rowhouse in the 700 block of Kentucky Avenue SE. Her 11-year-old daughter, who was asleep in a nearby bedroom, awoke to her mother’s cry and the sound of “Pop… pop, pop, pop.”  She then then saw a man walk by her open bedroom door.  The man she observed was Hairston, her mother’s ex-boyfriend. Terrified, the girl waited a few minutes before checking on her mother because she was afraid the defendant would come after her next.  When she finally gained the courage to go into her mother’s room, she found her 39-year-old mother dead, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head.  Frantic, she called 911.

            Prior to the murder, according to the government’s evidence, Hairston had engaged in a pattern of domestic violence against Ms. Goodloe. She had filed for a temporary protection order against him approximately two weeks earlier after he had slashed her tires and showed up at her house pounding on the door at all hours of the night.  Additionally, in the weeks leading up to the murder, he stole her house keys from her front door, threatened to kill her, and generally stalked and harassed her. They were scheduled to go to court regarding the temporary protection order on Monday, June 20, 2016, just two days after the murder.

            Hairston was arrested on the day of the murder and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michelle D. Jackson, David Gorman, and Laura R. Bach; Victim/Witness Advocate Marcia Rinker; Victim/Witness Services Coordinator Katina Adams-Washington; Forensic Child Interview Specialists Karen Giannakoulias and Tracy Owusu; Forensic Operation/Program Specialist Benjamin Kagan-Guthrie; Contract Specialist Marquetta Little; Lead Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity; Paralegal Specialists Kelly Blakeney and Stephanie Gilbert; Criminal Investigators John Marsh and Zachary McMenamin, and Litigation Technology Specialist Leif Hickling.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia Long and John Timmer, who investigated, indicted, and prosecuted the case.