D’Angelo Strand & Ronnie Marshall charged with murders of Brenda & Edward McDaniel Jr Springfield Virginia military medical couple. Slayings linked to burglary.
Authorities have arrested two individuals in the fatal double shooting of a military couple in Springfield, Virginia couple on Wednesday.
D’Angelo Strand, 19, of Fort Washington, Maryland, and Ronnie Keandre Marshall, 20, were arrested Thursday, in connection with the death of Edward McDaniel Jr., 55, and his wife, Brenda McDaniel, 63.
Police said that the men were co-workers of a relative of the victims according to a Facebook press release. The two men’s arrests following Police Chief Kevin Davis saying that the military husband and wife were ‘viciously shot and killed up close at point-blank range.’
‘We’ve lost two brave, dedicated, life-long servants to our country,’ Davis said. ‘Two full colonels were murdered in a residential neighborhood community.’
Police had been looking for a vehicle that they said was key in their investigation, and they asked the community for help in locating it. On Thursday, just before 7:30 a.m., police got a tip that the car was at business in Lorton, Virginia according to WTOP.
Shootings came two days after burglary at same location
Police found the vehicle and took the operator, Strand, into custody. Strand has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
At 1 p.m., police announced that there was an active murder arrest warrant for Marshall. At 2 p.m., law enforcement spotted him in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. He was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Police said they believe the shooting Wednesday on 8000 block of Flint Street near Redman Street was a ‘follow-up and related to the interactions Monday,’ when police responded to a call for service and conducted an active burglary investigation.
Police Chief Kevin Davis said they know that at least one of the two men was at the home on Monday.
Davis said the motive is currently believed to be a dispute, and police are working to figure out what it was about.
Maj. Ed O’Carroll, bureau chief of Major Crimes Cyber and Forensics for Fairfax County police, said the investigation is ongoing.
‘As of this moment, we have not located the firearm, but we have a lot of work to do. I mentioned the vehicle that’s now in our possession. We got a lot of things to follow up on. We want that firearm … This case does not close with these two arrests and these multiple charges. In some aspects, it’s just beginning,’ O’Carroll said.
Highly decorated military veteran couple
He’s asking anyone with information on what happened to call police at 703-246-7800
The McDaniels were both military doctors and colonels, and Edward McDaniel was still active with the Army.
Col. Edward McDaniel was an internal medicine doctor in the Army from June 1995 to May 2021. He was director of executive medicine at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital according to NBCWashington.
His awards and decorations include: Meritorious Service Medals, Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medals, Iraqi Campaign Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbons and the Combat Medic Badge.
Col. Brenda McDaniel was a medical-surgical nurse in the Army from September 1983 to September 2009.
Her awards and decorations include: the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medals, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medals, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medals, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbons and Presidential Service Identification Badge.
