D.C. Woman Killed in Random Attack While Walking Dog

• A Washington D.C. woman was stabbed and killed Tuesday evening while walking a dog near the MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
• A man who had no prior connection with Margery Magill repeatedly stabbed her leaving her to bleed out on the sidewalk.
• 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne was arrested for first-degree murder.
• Magill was a woman full of ambition and life. She had visited over 20 countries and had recently relocated from California to work as a program director for The Washington Center, a nonprofit organization that helped college students find internships and employment.

Tuesday night, a 27-year-old woman was attacked and stabbed to death while walking a dog. As she was walking back to an apartment complex on Irving Street in Northwest, D.C., a stranger began stabbing her continuously until she fell to the ground bleeding.

Police Say Attack Was Random

Margery Magill had recently relocated to Washington D.C. from California and was working as a program director for the nonprofit organization The Washington Center. She also spent her spare time as a dog-walker for the popular pet-sitting marketplace service, Rover.

At approximately 9 pm on Tuesday evening, Magill had just finished walking a small yellow pit bull close to the MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Suddenly, a man whom she did not know, approached her and started stabbing her with a knife.

Later that evening, authorities were able to arrest 24-year-old Eliyas Aregahegne and charged him with first-degree murder. Police are fairly confident that the attack on Magill was completely random and the two were not connected in any way. Police also mentioned that the attack didn’t appear to be a robbery or sexual assault.

Magill Bled Out on the Sidewalk

Local resident, Chris Chambers said he heard a woman shout “Oh no!” followed by another scream. “[I] came downstairs and came out with my wife and all we saw was a dog across the street with a leash and no human and we knew something was wrong,” Chambers said. “We looked down and we found the young lady on the sidewalk in front of our house bleeding.”

Reports say that Chambers and another nearby neighbor tried to perform CPR in order to save Margery’s life. Unfortunately, their efforts came up short and she died from stab wounds. Although it’s likely that Magill died there on the sidewalk, she was officially pronounced dead at the nearby MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

Full of Life and Ambition

Margery grew up on a small ranch in Yuba City, California where her father still resides. She received a B.S. in International Agricultural Development from UC Davis and a Master’s degree from Westminster College in London before heading to D.C. to start her new career.

“She loved D.C.,” her father, Jeff Magill said. “That was probably her dream city to work and that’s why she went back there. She had more life in her 27 years than a lot of people have in their whole lives,” her father added as he reflected on the fact that his daughter had visited 22 countries.

Her sister, Raeann Magill, was completely shocked by the news. “It’s absolutely tragic. I still can’t wrap my head around it,” she said. “You know, out walking a dog and to be attacked like that. How can anyone even fathom that? I mean, it’s truly tragic and I even think to myself, why her?”