A Washington, D.C. man was sentenced Friday to 50 years in prison for the 2021 killing of his ex-girlfriend, whom he shot in the head outside her Northwest home following their breakup, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced.
Idrissa Fall, 37, was convicted by a jury in January of first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt also imposed five years of supervised release following his prison term.
According to trial evidence, Fall murdered 34-year-old Dara Northern just after 1:30 a.m. on July 18, 2021. Northern had recently ended her relationship with Fall and asked him to move out. That night, as she got into a car with a friend for an evening out, Fall followed her and shot her once in the head as she sat in the front passenger seat.
Northern was declared brain dead later that day and succumbed to her injuries. Witnesses identified Fall at the scene, and evidence showed he reached for his waistband moments before firing the fatal shot. He fled immediately after the shooting.
Fall was apprehended and held pending trial, where prosecutors presented evidence of his motive, movements, and weapon possession.
Law enforcement, prosecutors credited for successful conviction
U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith praised the work of MPD investigators and the support of the U.S. Marshals Service in bringing Fall to justice. “The victim was killed in an act of targeted, intimate partner violence,” officials stated in their release.
The prosecution team included Investigative Analyst Zachary McMenamin, Victim/Witness Advocates Jennifer Allen and Latrice Washington-Williams, Paralegal Specialists Alyssa Schroeder and Sharon Newman, and Litigation Technology Specialist Sigourney Jackson.
The case was tried in D.C. Superior Court, where prosecutors highlighted the premeditated nature of the crime and Fall’s unlawful possession of the firearm used in the killing.
Fall’s sentencing closes a nearly four-year legal process in a case that drew attention for its sudden violence and connection to domestic abuse.