The Pittsburgh man accused of fatally stabbing his wife, sending photos of her body to her friend, and then fleeing the state has been located and arrested.
On Thursday, January 5th, when calls and texts to Tarae Washington went unanswered, her father looked for her at her Pittsburgh home. Inside the kitchen, he discovered his daughter’s body, People reported. He then dialed 911 and told dispatchers that his daughter “had been stabbed, is beyond help, and it was not self-inflicted.”
Investigators noted that there traces of blood throughout the house: the bathroom walls and floor, bathtub, toilet, throughout the second floor’s hallway, the stairwell, the living room, the dining room, and the kitchen. Officials believe that a blood-covered carving knife that was found in the second floor’s hallway was used as the murder weapon.
According to CBS News, Washington was in the process of divorcing her longtime husband, William Fitzgerald. She had filed for the divorce on November 1st, which was set to be finalized in February. Though her would-be former spouse wanted to reconcile the marriage, the police report states that Washington “was not interested.”
Photos of Washington with another man were taken from her phone and sent to two people. The first recipient of the photos with a message reading, “This is why she wasn’t answering her phone in Baltimore.” The second person to receive the messages accused Fitzgerald of killing Washington. “Fitzgerald replies to the (witness’) accusations three times within the text message string,” police documents report. “Fitzgerald does not make any attempt to assert his innocence in the replies.” A third person later received a photo of Washington’s body after she was fatally stabbed. “This what y’all got her,” Fitzgerald texted.
Four days later, on the following Monday, Fitzgerald was located in Morgantown, West Virginia, about 75 miles away from where the incident occurred. He was arrested and will remain in West Virginia pending an extradition hearing. Washington leaves behind two adult children, who have created a GoFundMe page in order to receive help for funeral expenses.
“She gave so much of herself to us, to her grandkids, to all of her family and friends,” the fundraiser reads. “Her spirit shined like the morning sun, warming those who saw her and spreading joy and hope. It hurts to even write that she’s gone.”
