Deputies say he killed a man at a Dania Beach motel. The victim was found in the bathroom.

Michelle Marchante
·2 min read

Deputies say they have arrested a man wanted for a weekend murder at a motel in Dania Beach.

Alphonso Washington, 59, was arrested Wednesday “for his involvement” in the murder at the Rodeway Inn and Suites, 2440 State Road 84, in Dania Beach, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies and fire rescue responded to the motel Sunday afternoon after receiving a call about a man who was found lying on the bathroom floor inside one of the motel rooms. He was pronounced dead at the scene, deputies said.

A post-mortem examination by the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death a homicide.

According to the BSO report, the victim had multiple lacerations on his body, and an object was found in his anal cavity. Bloody towels were found in the room.

The report said that the victim’s larynx was “crushed severely” and that Dr. [Gertrude] Juste, of the medical examiner’s office, had said the injury could only be cause by “using a shoe and stomping on a persons throat while they are on the ground.”

The victim also had severe blunt force trauma to the head, the report said.

Detectives learned through witness interviews and watching hotel video surveillance that Washington was involved in the murder, according to the sheriff’s office.

Three days later, deputies returned to motel, entered Washington’s room and took him into custody on charges of murder and violating the terms of his probation.

Washington was staying at the motel as part of a voucher program Fort Lauderdale set up to get people who were homeless off the streets to reduce their risk of falling ill with COVID-19, according to the sheriff office.

After the program ran out of money, Washington and more than a dozen others were able to remain at the motel because New Florida Majority, a racial justice and political action group, agreed to temporarily pick up the tab, reports the Sun Sentinel.

The sheriff’s office has declined to release the victim’s identity.