HollyMatkinWaldorf, MD – A District of Columbia Department of Corrections officer was murdered by her son, and tossed out of a vehicle onto the side of a roadway, police said.
When she was found just before 9 p.m. on Jan. 11, there was no identification on the body of 57-year-old Corporal Swanda Dunn, WUSA reported.
Police initially released photos of the Dunn’s tattoos on social media, in the hopes that someone would be able to tell them who the victim was.
Although it was unclear exactly how Cpl. Dunn was identified, investigators ultimately collected enough information to identify her. They searched her home and found evidence that connected her son, 32-year-old Mario Dunn, to her murder, WRC-TV reported.
Investigators said that Mario stabbed his mother as the pair was driving home from a relative’s house along Old Washington Road on Jan. 11, WUSA reported.
Mario then pulled Cpl. Dunn out of the vehicle, dragged her into the road, and drove off.
They lived less than two miles away from the location where Cpl. Dunn’s body was found, WRC-TV reported.
Police arrested Mario and charged him with multiple offenses, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and assault.
A neighbor initially told WTTG that Swanda was employed as a corporal at a correctional facility.
According to WUSA, Mario had been arrested for assault on multiple occasions over the past 12 years, and had at least two orders of protection filed against him.
One of those orders was filed on the day his mother’s body was found, but police said the order had nothing to do with Cpl. Dunn’s murder.
A family friend of the Dunns said that Mario has mental disabilities, but police have not confirmed those claims, WUSA reported.