The 22-year-old girlfriend of a 53-year-old alleged sugar daddy is behind bars, accused of killing him and then cutting off his thumb so she could use his banking app and Uber.
The horror unfolded last April in Washington DC. Police believe Tiffany Gray killed Fasil Teklemariam inside her apartment. She was stabbed, suffered head trauma and had her thumb severed, from which she has not yet recovered.
A witness told investigators that Gray and his accomplices then used the thumb to buy marijuana and alcohol.
Surveillance footage from around Teklemariam’s apartment building in the Manor Park section of D.C. showed Gray and another woman, Audrey Miller, 19, along with two other men, entering and leaving the building at the time of the killing.
Teklemariam was found dead in his bedroom on April 5, surrounded by broken glass. It is unclear whether his thumb was amputated before or after his death.
Tiffany Taylor Gray, 22, the woman who referred to victim Fasil Teklemariam as her ‘sugar daddy’
Audrey Miller, 19, was first arrested in connection with the gruesome killing. In June, she was ordered held without bail on first-degree murder charges.
Gray is seen walking towards Teklemariam’s apartment building after her death.
Fasil Teklemariam, 53, seen here in an image released publicly by police, worked as a technician for the Washington, D.C.-area transit system.
His SUV was not in its usual parking space in front of his building.
The victim was last seen on April 1, walking with Gray to her apartment building.
Gray entered and left the building several times between April 1 and April 5.
During that time, the group could be seen carrying Teklemariam’s belongings with them. In charging documents, detectives said they have yet to recover several electronic and household items belonging to the victim.
In one clip, a member of the group brings cleaning supplies into the building.
“The suspects stole several items from a resident. A search of (Teklemariam’s) residence revealed that several electronic devices and household items had been stolen,” the criminal complaint states.
Documents confirm that cleaning products were used in the apartment but a bloody shoe print was recovered.
Police targeted Gray as a possible suspect when detectives discovered that in October 2023, he filed a complaint with D.C. police, accusing them of stealing his phone and racking up $1,800 in charges on his banking app.
Search leads later found that Teklemariam’s cell phone was intercepted near a cell tower in College Park, Maryland, close to where Gray was living at the time. Teklemariam was the guarantor of the apartment.
Miller can be seen entering Teklemariam’s apartment building on April 1.
Miller and the victim were seen entering her apartment on April 1, it is unclear what their relationship was.
Miller is seen in the hallway of the apartment building.
The allegation that the victim acted as the suspect’s “sugar daddy” is mentioned in the criminal complaint and attributed to “witnesses.”
Investigators believe Gray has “repeatedly” committed the crime of meeting men online and robbing them.
In an incident last May, Gray is accused of meeting with a man and then showing up at his home with two others, who were armed.
The group is accused of robbing the man by tying his hands and feet with cable ties.
Under threat of violence, the man revealed his bank PIN codes. His home was also robbed.
Miller was first arrested on June 21 and charged with first-degree murder. She was ordered held without bail. Gray was arrested on July 1 and charged with first-degree murder and armed manslaughter.
One of the men who accompanied them to the apartment has been identified and is not charged with any crime.
Authorities allege Gray was using the pseudonym Taylor Greene after the murder.
According to his Facebook page, Teklemariam was originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is unclear when he moved to the United States. His profile shows photos of him with his family, which includes his wife and two children.
The most recent video on his page shows his children paying tribute to him on Father’s Day in 2022. “I hope you live longer than anyone in the world,” his son says.
On his LinkedIn page, Teklemariam said he worked as a technician for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
