Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Columbia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 28, 2020

WASHINGTON – Malcolm Cunningham, 24, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced today by Judge Ronna Beck to 18 years’ incarceration, suspending all but 15 years of incarceration for the murder of his great grandmother’s common-law-husband, David Norwood, U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Shea announced.  Cunningham previously pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder while armed with a sentencing range of 12 to 18 years in prison. 

            The incident occurred on Easter Sunday 2017.  Prior to the murder, Mr. Norwood and his wife (Cunningham’s great-grandmother) had allowed Cunningham to stay in their home for about a year.  Two weeks before the murder, Mr. Norwood and Cunningham’s great grandmother finally kicked Cunningham out of the residence as a result of fights he was repeatedly having with other residents.  On Easter morning, Cunningham snuck back into the residence where he found Mr. Norwood, alone.  Cunningham argued with Mr. Norwood and then took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed him before fleeing the scene.  Mr. Norwood remained in the home, injured, until family members found him hours later, unconscious and lying on the floor.  A short time later Mr. Norwood died as a result of his injuries.       

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Shea commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch of the Metropolitan Police Department.  He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Lornce Applewhite and Alesha Matthews-Yette and Victim Witness Specialist Marcia Rinker.  Finally, U.S. Attorney Shea commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Liebman who prosecuted the case.