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Boyfriend Charged in Connection With Fatal Shooting in Fort Washington

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- Detectives in Prince George's County have arrested a man in connection with a shooting that fatally wounded his girlfriend inside of a Fort Washington home in April.

Jamal Speaks, 19, of the 7000 block of Greenleaf Road in Palmer Park, Maryland, was charged with first degree murder, second degree murder, assault and weapons charges.

On April at around 10:30 p.m., patrol officers responded to a home in the 13000 block of Buchanan Drive. Officers found a female victim in a bedroom suffering from a single gunshot wound.

She was pronounced dead on the scene.

Initially, responding officers and detectives were told by witnesses that the victim accidentally shot herself.

An autopsy revealed that her wound could not have been self-inflicted, and the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide. 

The subsequent investigation revealed that Speaks had illegally purchased the gun and had been playing with the gun throughout the day. 

At about 10:30 p.m., Speaks fired the weapon one time, striking the victim.

Speaks then placed the gun in the victim's hand to make it appear as if she had shot herself. He admitted his involvement in this incident.  

He remains in the custody of the Department of Corrections on a no-bond status. 

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