A 76-year-old man has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a toddler who was found unresponsive inside a Southeast Washington apartment last year, authorities said.
Police and court records say officers were called shortly after 7 a.m. on March 12, 2025, to an apartment on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE for reports of an unconscious child. The boy, identified as Qamari Johnson, age 17 months, was found on the floor of the residence and was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation by the Metropolitan Police and prosecutors concluded that the child’s death was a homicide caused by exposure to dangerous drugs while in the care of a caregiver.
The defendant, Lawrence Juarez Perryman Jr., was arrested Jan. 22, 2026 pursuant to a Superior Court warrant and is charged with first-degree murder under the felony-murder statute and first-degree cruelty to children. Perryman was the great-grandfather of the victim.
According to court filings, Perryman was the only adult present when the child was discovered unresponsive. A post-mortem examination later determined that the toddler died from the combined toxic effects of diphenhydramine — commonly found in Benadryl cough and allergy medicines — and methadone, a powerful opioid.
Investigators allege that methadone was present inside the apartment and had been used by the defendant’s partner as part of treatment to stop a heroin addiction. Prosecutors say Perryman failed to protect the child from exposure to the drug, which medical experts say can be fatal to young children even in small amounts. Witness statements, toxicology findings and inconsistencies in Perryman’s account of events were cited as part of the evidence supporting the charges.
Felony-murder charges do not require proof that a defendant intended to kill. Under District law, a death that occurs during the commission of certain felonies — including first-degree cruelty to children — can be charged as first-degree murder.
Perryman was ordered held pending further court proceedings and is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in the coming weeks. Under the District of Columbia’s recording system for homicides, this is classified as a 2026 homicide, the second of the year.
