DNA IDs suspect in 2005 murder

A DNA match made this year on items recovered at the scene of 2005 homicide in Brentwood has led Prince Georges County police to charge one man in connection with the fatal stabbing, officials said Wednesday.

Marcus Levi Brown, 41, was arrested Tuesday afternoon in the District and will be charged with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of Reginald Bruce Taborn, a 49-year-old National Institutes of Health employee found dead on the floor of his apartment on May 17, 2005.

The match that led to the Mr. Browns arrest was made this year after Mr. Browns DNA was entered into the FBIs DNA database of convicted offenders, said Capt. Joseph Hoffman, of the police departments homicide unit. DNA evidence was originally recovered from the scene of the homicide from several items in close proximity to the victim, Capt. Hoffman said. A confirmation DNA sample was analyzed by Prince Georges County officials and also produced a match, he said.

It was not immediately clear what criminal conviction led to Mr. Browns DNA being entered into the FBI database. Officers found Taborn dead in his apartment, located on the 3300 block of Buchanan Street, after they were called to check on his welfare when he failed to show up to work, according to police reports at the time. No weapon was recovered from the scene, Capt. Hoffman said.

Taborn was last seen alive on May 15, 2005, the same day that witnesses reported hearing mens voices yelling at the apartment, Capt. Hoffman said. There was no forced entry to Taborns apartment and police investigators believe the two men knew one another.

Homicide detectives have interviewed Mr. Brown about Taborns death, but Capt. Hoffman declined to discuss anything said during interviews.

D.C. court records show Mr. Brown is currently being held in the District where he was detained as a fugitive. He will be officially charged with second-degree murder once he is extradited to Prince Georges County, according to police.

Contact information for relatives of Mr. Brown could not be immediately located and no attorney is listed as representing him in D.C. court records.

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DNA IDs suspect in 2005 murder