Saba Tekle, a 33-year-old Ethiopian immigrant and mother of three, was killed on October 13, 1989, outside her apartment in Annandale, Virginia. The female victim's life was cut short in a brutal act of violence that began as a random encounter. The perpetrator, who was 17 years old at the time, spotted Tekle on a highway and followed her with the intention of sexually assaulting her.
The assailant, Dwight A.
Wright, confronted Tekle at her apartment building in the 6900 block of King Louis Drive. At gunpoint, he forced her to partially undress. When Tekle attempted to escape by running up the stairs, Wright shot her in the upper back with a. 38-caliber handgun. The bullet pierced her jugular vein, leading to her death. Wright's attack on Tekle was part of a five-day shooting spree during which he also shot two other people in Prince George's County, one of whom died.
Following an investigation, Wright was arrested and charged with a multitude of offenses. Despite his age, he was tried as an adult in Fairfax County Circuit Court. In November 1991, a jury found him guilty of two counts of capital murder, one for the murder of Saba Tekle in the commission of a robbery while armed with a deadly weapon, and another for capital murder subsequent to attempted rape. He was also convicted of armed robbery, attempted rape, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
During the sentencing phase of the trial, the jury determined that Wright posed a future danger to society and unanimously sentenced him to death for the two capital murder convictions. He also received a life sentence for the robbery, ten years for the attempted rape, and two years for the firearm charge. After years of appeals, Dwight A. Wright, then 26, was executed on October 14, 1998, for the murder of Saba Tekle.
