D.C. Father Indicted for 2023 Murder of His Infant Son

WASHINGTON - Dion Phelps, 29, of Washington, D.C., was indicted and arraigned for the murder of his 7-month-old son, King Phelps, in March 2023, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Phelps was indicted for first-degree felony murder, two counts of first-degree cruelty to children (for two separate children), two counts of assault, and one count of felony threats related to threats against a witness, by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Todd Edelman presided over today's arraignment.

According to the government's evidence, on March 16, 2023, members of the Metropolitan Police Department's Seventh District were dispatched to 1359 Morris Road, Southeast, for the report of an unconscious infant. Upon their arrival, members located the infant victim, King, unconscious and unresponsive and the victim's father, Dion Phelps, and the leaseholder of the apartment present.  Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene to provide life-saving measures.  After all life-saving efforts were exhausted, the infant was pronounced dead. The medical examiner determined that King had blunt force injuries of the torso.

Phelps was arrested on October 23, 2023, and has been in custody since.

Joining in the announcement was Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma McArthur.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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