By rssfeeds-admin Officer Denna Fredericka Campbell was found dead on the floor of her bedroom on Sept. 16, 1995. Detectives during the initial investigation suspected Campbell’s boyfriend, at the time known as Kenneth Burnell Wonsom, had killed her, citing conflicting accounts and discrepancies in the details.
Even though he was charged, those charges were eventually dropped, turning the case cold.
In 2021, he changed his legal name in Anne Arundel County to Amir Jalil Ali. 30 years after the initial investigation, police announced Ali was once again arrested and facing first-degree murder charges.
Campbell was a 7th District four-year veteran of the department and worked part-time at a McDonald’s on Benning Road as security.
In the days prior
According to the charging documents from 1995, Ali had been living with his girlfriend for around six months.
Undercover officers at The Foxy Playground strip club stated they encountered Ali around Sept. 12, 1995, where he said, “I think she is f****** another police officer. I’m going to kill them both.”
Interviews with neighbors and fellow officers revealed that Campbell was afraid of her boyfriend. One went as far as to explain that she began sleeping with her department-issued handgun under her pillow.
At one point, Campbell told a fellow police officer she worked with that Ali reportedly “put his hands on her,” and she had to pull out her gun to protect herself, according to reports in the police filings.
Campbell told another police officer that she was planning to leave Ali three days before she was murdered and said, “If I don’t show up for work Saturday, you’ll know he killed me and buried me somewhere,” according to the report.
She additionally stated to the same office that, “If something happens to me, I want you to tell the police,” according to the report.
She was killed days later.
The day Campbell was killed
According to two of Campbell’s co-workers at the McDonald’s on Benning Road, the couple had been arguing during her shift. After the call ended, Campbell told one co-worker, “I’ve got to end this relationship,” according to police filings.
The second co-worker stated Campbell was “desperate” and said Ali picked her up around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 16. He was wearing a white shirt and clothes matching the description police would later find him in, notably with no damage or stains.
Ali called Montgomery County emergency services around 5 a.m., and informed dispatch that someone had broken into the house and his girlfriend was bleeding on the floor after being shot, then added, “She a police officer, too.”
He told dispatch that he had just arrived home.
When dispatch asked him to check on Campbell, he refused and hung up the phone. The case was upgraded from an armed robbery to a murder based on the information provided.
When officers arrived, Campbell was found dead on the floor of the bedroom.
Ali was seen wearing a white t-shirt that was torn in the front and had visible blood stains, a different picture than what Campbell’s co-workers saw earlier in the morning.
Detectives were told that he found the door open about 3 inches wide when he came home. Investigators noted in the filings that his keys were still in the door as if he had been trying to unlock the door. No signs of forced entry were detected.
Initially cooperating with police, he agreed to be transported and interviewed, where he provided a statement of events between Sept. 15-16. However, Ali became defensive when it came to his bloodied clothing, saying he would “sink his teeth into their chest and make them regret this day” if they tried to collect it, according to the report.
His clothing was collected, and detectives then noted the scratches on his back.
Ali’s Version of Events
He stated to police that he picked Campbell up from her part-time security job at McDonald’s around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 16 and got home around 2:40 a.m.
Once there, Campbell asked him to go to the store since they were out of Ginger Ale, Listerine mouthwash and toothpaste, Ali said during his early statement. He then left around 3:20 a.m. to pick up the items, making sure to lock the deadbolt and knob lock as he left the third-story apartment.
Ali said Campbell was in bed watching TV when he left. He then describes in detail how he went to a “Go-Go” in Washington, D.C. called “The Foxy Playground” to gamble with some friends. He stated he also planned to pick up a bike he left in the kitchen of the strip club, but it was closed.
After wandering around “looking for friends,” he went into vivid descriptions of going to Duke’s Seafood — which was closed — and then laid out exactly what route he took to get to a CVS — which was also closed.
Around 4:05 a.m., Ali said he went across the street to a payphone and called Campbell to leave a message on her answering machine saying, “Boo, I am stopping at the store to pick up some Listerine and soda and wondered if you needed anything?”
The call raised alarm bells for investigators, given that he previously stated his reason for leaving was specifically to get these items, and he acknowledged that she was heading to bed when he left.
Ali then went to the CVS on Langley Park, saying that he knew it was open 24 hours, and got the items, paying cash. His CVS receipt shows a transaction at 4:42 a.m. On the way home, he stopped on the side of the road during the 4-mile trip from CVS before returning to the apartment.
The autopsy report showed defensive wounds and confirmed that Campbell died from multiple gunshot wounds.
When officers arrived, they weren’t able to determine immediately that Campbell was shot. She had been wrapped in her comforter and had a wrap around her head, covering any gunshot entry wounds.
Despite this, Ali accurately stated that she had been shot.
He said he did not touch Campbell except to put a finger on her forehead when her body was discovered.
Other witnesses and evidence
A neighbor reported being woken up by the sound of five gunshots around 3:20 a.m., around the same time Ali said he left to go to the store.
Another neighbor on Heather Hollow Circle reported being awakened around the time the shots were fired by a male voice yelling. The witness heard the male say, “I told you not to do this to me.”
Campbell’s handgun was missing from the scene, and evidence pointed toward her being shot with her own gun. Nothing else was reported missing, including Campbell’s purse and other valuable items that were in plain view for a burglar.
Campbell’s car, which Ali had been driving, was confiscated as evidence, and evidence suggested that he was bleeding when he left around 3:20 a.m. the day she was murdered.
Based on witness statements, detectives believe that Campbell was killed within 40 minutes of arriving home.
Male DNA was recovered from beneath her fingernails, which were broken off during the struggle.
While Campbell’s mother has died, a detective was able to talk to her father. He said two words when he heard the news about the arrest — “Thank God.”
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