Olga Akinyi Ooro, a 34-year-old resident of Washington, D.C., was last seen on the evening of Thursday, July 16, 2020. She was in the company of her boyfriend, Darnell Sterling, and her seven-year-old son, returning to her apartment in the 300 block of Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, after having dinner at a restaurant. Security footage captured the three of them in the apartment building's elevator, which was the last time Ooro was seen.
Two days later, on July 18, 2020, her son was found by residents, wandering alone and crying in the hallway of the apartment building. When questioned, the child was unaware of his mother's whereabouts. This discovery prompted an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department.
The investigation into Ooro's disappearance quickly deemed it suspicious, and the Homicide Branch took over the case. Suspicion fell on her boyfriend, Darnell Sterling, who had a history of domestic violence against Ooro. In fact, just three months prior to her disappearance, Sterling had been arrested for assaulting her and was under a court order to stay away from her at the time she went missing. On July 23, 2020, just days after she was reported missing, 55-year-old Darnell Sterling was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Ooro's disappearance, even though her body had not been found.
Despite the absence of a body, prosecutors built a case against Sterling based on circumstantial evidence. This included surveillance footage that appeared to show Sterling struggling to remove a large object wrapped in a blanket from the apartment building on a cart. A K-9 unit also detected the scent of a deceased person in the front passenger seat of Sterling's car and in various locations within Ooro's apartment building. Prosecutors argued that Sterling had killed Ooro in her apartment, cleaned the scene, and then disposed of her body. In October 2022, a D.C. Superior Court jury found Darnell Sterling guilty of second-degree murder and contempt. He was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison. Olga Ooro's remains have never been located.Last Seen: Jul 16, 2020
