A Southeast D.C. woman has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly shooting her boyfriend when he told her he had HIV while having sex.
Police arrested 48-year-old Shawnta Aiken on Monday following an investigation into the November 2 shooting in the 3000 block of P Street SE. Officers responding to the home around 10 p.m. found 56-year-old Richard Walker, also of Southeast, suffering from two gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to court documents, Aiken’s son told investigators he heard a gunshot followed by another moments later, then saw his mother holding a firearm before placing it on the couch. He said Aiken repeatedly said Walker had given her HIV and added, “That motherf— really had the nerve to tell me that.” The son told police his mother was off her medication and believed she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Witnesses told detectives that Aiken and Walker were in an on-and-off romantic relationship marked by domestic violence. They described prior incidents in which Walker allegedly struck Aiken with a gun and gave her what witnesses called “bad drugs.”
Body-worn camera footage from responding officers captured Aiken saying, “He told me he gave me HIV,” before leading police to the gun and the victim’s body. In a separate video, Aiken, while being handcuffed, said, “he said he has HIV and he gave me the gun and told me to shoot him in the head.”
911 calls from the area also recorded Aiken confessing to the shooting. In the dispatch, Aiken said, “my boyfriend we was having sex, and he said he had HIV and he told me he gave me HIV and he told me to kill him.”
Investigators noted that Aiken appeared calm and coherent during her interaction with police, though she admitted to using PCP earlier that day and was found with several bags of heroin. Detectives did not conduct a formal interview at the time due to her reported drug use.
The victim had prior firearms convictions from 2022 and 1993 as well as multiple felony drug convictions and an Assault with Significant Bodily Injury conviction from 2009.
Aiken is being held without bond pending her next court appearance.
