Rape suspect freed due to coronavirus kills his accuser

Ibrahim E. Bouaichi

Police in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., say a rape suspect who was released from jail because of the coronavirus killed the woman who accused him in court.

Ibrahim E. Bouaichi had been released on bond and ordered not to leave his Maryland home after he was charged with raping Karla Elizabeth Dominguez Gonzalez, reported WJLA-TV in Washington.

On July 29, officers found Gonzalez shot to death in Alexandria, Virginia. One week later, Aug. 5, Alexandria police officers with the FBI's regional Violent Crimes Task Force spotted Bouaichi in Prince George's County, Maryland.

In a chase, Bouaichi crashed the car he was driving and was found inside with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, WJLA reported. He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

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It was Alexandria's first homicide of the year.

Gonzalez had testified against Bouaichi in Alexandria District Court in December.

Bouaichi had been jailed without bond after being indicted for rape. But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, his lawyer argued he should be freed while awaiting trial because the virus endangered inmates.

The Washington Post reported circuit court Judge Nolan Dawkins released Bouaichi on April 9 on $25,000 bond.

He was ordered not to leave his home unless he was meeting with his lawyers or court officials.