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Local Crime & Public Safety

Police identify body of man found shot in woods in Southwest D.C.

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February 20, 2024 at 12:39 p.m. EST
Cordon tape seals off an active crime scene. (iStock)
1 min

D.C. police on Monday identified a 29-year-old man whose remains were found in a park on Friday in Southwest Washington.

Leon Powell of Southeast D.C. died of gunshot injuries, police said in a statement, and his death is being investigated as a homicide. Police said the remains were in an advanced state of decomposition.

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Efforts to reached Powell’s family were not successful on Tuesday. Police said he lived less than a mile away from Fort Greble Park, where his remains were located Friday afternoon.

The park, off the 4300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SW, is a former Civil War installation overseen by the National Park Service. It is located near the District’s southernmost tip, between Interstate 295 and the Bellevue neighborhood.

A police report does not say how the remains were found. Police said they do not know when Powell was shot or if he was shot in the park.