WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William County Police (PWCPD) says an arrest has been made in the homicide investigation of a woman found shot to death in a wooded area behind a 7-eleven in Woodbridge.
On Friday, July 1, at 4:28 a.m., PWCPD officers responded to the 13900 block of Jefferson Davis Highway to investigate a shooting.
When officers at the location, they found a woman - now identified as 46-year-old Claudia Beatriz Morataua - in a wooded area with gunshot wounds.
Medics were summoned, and she was declared dead at the scene by rescue personnel.
A few laborers who frequently visit the store to find a job told WUSA9 the victim, Beatriz, was originally from Guatemala. The workers and the store clerk said she would stand near the intersection selling items, including water bottles, to make money.
"She was a very nice lady," store clerk Mohammad Majid said. "She'd buy the water case and sell it for people in the summertime because it's hot."
Detectives with the Violent Crimes Bureau arrested 26-year-old Isaiah Gershon McGriff of Woodbridge, Va. on Saturday, July 2.
The suspect and victim got into a verbal altercation, according to PWCPD. The victim was heading to the wooded area when the man followed her and allegedly pulled out a gun he was carrying and fired several rounds.
Police said the man ran away from the scene before police arrived, and a bystander who was in the vicinity of the incident contacted the police.
While investigating the incident, detectives identified McGriff, an acquaintance of Morataya, as the suspect.
On July 2, detectives obtained a search warrant for McGriff's residence and recovered a firearm they believed to have been used in the shooting.
Police arrested McGriff, and he is being held without bond.
He is facing second-degree and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
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