Inset: Dana Northern (D.C. Metropolitan Police Dept.). Background: The area where Northern was killed by her ex-boyfriend, Idrissa Fall, in 2021 (Google Maps).
A 37-year-old man in Washington, D.C., will spend decades behind bars for killing his ex-girlfriend, shooting her in cold blood moments after she had gotten in the passenger seat of her best friend’s car.
Superior Court Judge Rainey Brandt has ordered Idrissa Fall to serve a sentence of 50 years in a federal correctional facility for the 2021 slaying of Dara Northern, authorities announced. A Superior Court jury in January unanimously voted to convict Fall of one count each of first-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm. In addition to his incarceration, Fall will also be required to serve five years of supervised release.
Inmates in federal prison are not eligible for parole.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the incident took place in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 18, 2021, in front of Northern’s home in Northwest Washington.
Northern’s best friend had arrived at her home on the 6100 block of 4th Street, NW, at around 1:30 a.m. to pick her up so the two could spend a “night on the town,” prosecutors said. But Northern was not aware that Fall, whom she had recently kicked out of the home after ending their relationship, was waiting for her outside.
Prosecutors said that as Northern was walking toward her best friend’s car, Fall attempted to stop her, but she continued to the vehicle.
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“As Northern got into the front seat of her friend’s waiting vehicle, the defendant started reaching for his waistband,” the release states. “As Northern closed the door, the defendant shot her in the head as she sat next to her best friend and fled the scene. Northern suffered one gunshot wound to her right eye.”
Northern was rushed to a local hospital for treatment but was declared brain-dead. She succumbed to her injury and was pronounced dead later that day.
Prosecutors told jurors that Northern had planned a “perfect day” with her best friend to celebrate her breakup with Fall, and that following the split, she was “light and happy,” D.C. Witness, a local news website, reported.
“She never saw it coming,” the prosecution reportedly said during opening statements.
Northern’s best friend told investigators that Fall had said “something about gay s—” shortly before pulling the trigger, implying that he believed that Northern was, like many of her friends, part of the LGBTQ+ community, the D.C. Witness reported.
Authorities said that Fall had disabled security cameras at Northern’s home prior to the shooting, but he was seen on other footage running from the scene on neighbors cameras. Investigators located Fall two weeks later and took him into custody for Northern’s murder. He remained in detention until his trial.
Fall had been facing a possible sentence of life in prison.
