Arrest Made In 12-Year-Old DC Cold Case

VIA MYFOXDC:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Metropolitan Police Department Tuesday announced it has charged a suspect in the 1997 murder of a 25-year-old woman at her home in Adams Morgan.

Frederick Edward Morton, 57, was arrested at a federal prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania, where he’s been locked up since July on a violation of probation. Court records show Morton has a criminal history dating back to 1987, with burglary being the primary crime.

On January 21, 1997, MPD officials say Morton broken into the Biltmore Street NW row house where Sharon Moskowitz had been living. Police say Morton strangled Moskowitz with her own scarf. She had interrupted a burglary and paid for it with her life.

Five hours after the murder, Morton was allegedly seen using Moskowitz’s credit card to buy groceries at a D.C. supermarket. He was caught on surveillance video. Police could see his face. But for nearly 13 years, they did not know his name.

This fall, police were able to enhance the video images from another surveillance camera at another supermarket where a man was seen using Moskowitz’s credit card. The U.S. Secret Service did the digital enhancement. Fox 5 and other D.C. TV stations broadcast the video. And on Tuesday, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and Mayor Adrian Fenty announced the cold case has been cracked.

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