11 months ago
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) - Two young boys and their deaf mother are dead in what D.C. police say may be a domestic-related homicide. It happened Saturday afternoon in the Carver-Langston Neighborhood of Northeast.
The family of Erika Peters says she and her two boys, Erik and Dakota, were stabbed to death. Her two-year-old daughter was unharmed.
The family source also says her common-law husband Joseph "Randy" Mays is in custody. Mays is also being treated for stab wounds.
Neighbors are stunned. They say Erika was a pleasant woman who would use sign language to communicate.
"She was deaf," said one neighbor. "But she'd read your lips if she was talking to you. She talked sign language. She used to go around to different churches and sing gospel, but she'd do it in sign language."
This case even got the attention of Mayor Adrian Fenty. He talked with neighbors about the tragedy.
"It's just an awful, awful thought," he said. "Something that should never happen."
While police have not named Mays as a suspect, Chief Cathy Lanier says she believes this could be a case of domestic violence.
Officers said they heard cries from inside the apartment and nearby residents reported sounds of a struggle.
A family source says the two boys are not related to Mays, but the two-year-old girl is his daughter. Sources say when officers entered the apartment they found Mays combing the girl's hair.
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