Murdered D.C. Cop Said She Feared Her Boyfriend. 30 Years Later He’s Charged

The boyfriend of a Washington, D.C., police officer who was killed 30 years ago has been charged with her murder.

Amir Jalil Ali was arrested in connection with the death of Denna Fredericka Campbell, who was 24 when she was killed in 1995, Montgomery County, Md., police said in a press release.

At the time of her death, Campbell had been a D.C. police officer for four years. She was found dead in her shared apartment in White Oak on Sept. 16, 1995, having been shot five times, police said.

Ali, who was named Kenneth Burnell Wonsom at the time, allegedly called police and claimed there had been a burglary and that his girlfriend had been shot. He told police he had left the apartment at around 3 a.m. that morning and found her unresponsive when he returned, according to police.

Campbell’s service weapon has never been found.

Citing a police report, the Associated Press reported that Campbell had told colleagues she feared her boyfriend and slept with her department-issued gun under her pillow.

“If I don’t show up for work Saturday, you’ll know he killed me and buried me somewhere,” she reportedly told one of her colleagues, according to the AP.

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Police said Ali, now 62, was initially charged with Campbell’s murder at the time of her death but the charges were dropped months later. He changed his name in 2021.

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said he didn’t know why the charges against Ali were dropped in 1995, the AP reported. At the time, a predecessor was in McCarthy’s role.

“Our detectives showed true grit and determination, never giving up as they continued to re-examine evidence and follow leads as they emerged,” Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada said in a statement. “This arrest represents significant progress in a long-standing investigation, and we hope that it brings some measure of closure to Officer Campbell’s family, friends, and fellow officers who have waited three decades for justice.”