Suspect Arrested in Stabbing Death of Woman in Washington DC

Police have released surveillance camera footage of a suspect who allegedly stabbed and killed a female jogger in Washington D.C.’s Logan Circle.

Wendy Martinez, 35, was stabbed several times on Sept. 18, reported Fox5. On Sept. 20, a person was taken into custody in connection with the murder.

Martinez was jogging in Logan Circle at around 8 p.m. when a man stabbed her in the neck. She stumbled away from the person and went inside a nearby restaurant, and the Fox5 report said that she tried to alert other customers to her attacker’s location.

The jogger was rushed to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Police said that they don’t believe she knew her attacker, and the knife that was allegedly used in the murder was found by investigators.

“It is more likely a random act than anything else, but we’re going to look at all possibilities,” Police Chief Peter Newsham said, Fox News reported. He said that people in the restaurant “did the best they could” to say the woman’s life.

“I was scared. I saw her fall down, and then I see a hole in her neck from the stab wound. My customers were screaming, and there was blood all over her face and neck,” said the manager of the restaurant to NBC Washington.

“I saw her fall down, and then I see a hole in her neck from the stab wound. My customers were screaming, and there was blood all over her face and neck,” he told The Washington Times.

Newsham said officials did not yet have a motive in the case, saying that it is “unsettling” and that the attack is likely random.

He also said that such incidents “sometimes happen in large cities,” WTOP reported.

Police have released surveillance camera footage of a suspect who allegedly stabbed and killed a female jogger in Washington D.C.’s Logan Circle. (Washington DC Police)

Recently Engaged

Her family said that she and her boyfriend got engaged just one week prior to her death.

“Wendy Karina Martinez was the light of our lives. Not only was she an avid runner, but she was a devout Christian, a wonderful friend, and a driven professional. Everything you hope that a daughter and a friend could be,” her family said on Sept. 19, NBC Washington reported. “She was also excited to be planning her upcoming wedding to her fiancé, Daniel Hincapie. They were engaged just last week.”

“Simply put, Wendy was fearfully and wonderfully made! Now we know she has found the one whom her soul loved. (Song of Solomon 3:4),” the statement added.

She was the chief of staff for the firm FiscalNote.

“The entire FiscalNote family is shocked and deeply saddened to learn that Wendy Martinez, our Chief of Staff, was killed last night,” the company said on Sept. 19. “Wendy was an invaluable member of our team and a vibrant member of the community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Wendy’s family and friends.”

A woman who jogs in the area was shocked by the brazen attack.

“As a runner, it’s pretty terrifying. You'd think running on lit streets, you would be safe, but that’s mind-boggling,” one woman said.