Details that include a history of domestic violence have emerged in the case against a Cambridge man who admitted to the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend on Friday evening.
Dion D. Ennals faces murder charges after appearing at the Cambridge Police Department’s headquarters covered in blood on Sept. 24, telling officers, “I killed her.”
The 31-year-old arrived at the back door of the police station about 7:40 p.m. and made the chilling confession, police said.
Ennals was detained after his admission, and guided officers to the victim’s body after he told them she was “probably still laying there,” police said.
The victim, 39-year-old Roshanda S. Willis, was located less than a quarter of a mile away on Phillips Industrial Park Drive, near a building at the corner of the industrial access road and Washington Street.
Officers found Willis in the roadway in “a large pool of blood, and pronounced her dead at the scene.
Detectives said they were able to locate surveillance footage of the murder taking place, which “showed Ennals violently beating the victim for an extended period before leaving her lifeless body and walking toward the Cambridge Police Department.” No weapon was used in the attack.
Charging documents described Ennals’s narrative of the events leading up to Willis’s death. Ennals said the incident stemmed from financial problems. Tensions had been high between the two due to the possibility of eviction from their shared residence. The two had been looking for work earlier in the day that Friday, and Willis had reportedly been out all day.
He also told police that things began to get tense that evening due to his belief that Willis was hiding something from him.
A short time later, a woman came to pick Willis up to go to the nearby Wawa. He told police that he rode with Willis and the woman, and an argument between them began in the vehicle. Willis reportedly told the woman that Ennals had pushed her down the stairs earlier and gave the driver directions to take her to the Cambridge Police Department.
According to charging documents, Ennals told police he climbed into the front passenger seat where Willis was sitting and the door opened, allowing the two to fall out of the vehicle onto Washington Street. He said the car kept going. At that time, Ennals told police that he had “lost it” and “blacked out.”
Ennals said when he came to he saw Willis unresponsive on the ground, bleeding from her injuries. He reportedly checked for a pulse but didn’t feel one and walked the short distance to the police department to turn himself in.
Domestic issues had long been a concern in the pair’s relationship, according to court records. They had been involved in a lengthy court battle following a domestic violence incident between them in March 2020. Ennals was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail in a Dorchester District Court trial in August 2020.
Ennals appealed the case shortly after the lower court verdict was decided. In late April of this year, a circuit judge modified his sentence, giving him credit for the 13 months he already served. Ennals was released on probation later that month.
Upon his release, the domestic issues continued despite one of his probation conditions stated that he was to have no contact with Willis. He was arrested again for a violation of probation in late May after Willis called police, telling them she felt unsafe. Willis reportedly told police that Ennals was staying in the same building, calling and texting her dozens of times.
Ennals was arrested for violating his probation in early June and was held in the Dorchester County Detention Center until Aug. 19 — just over a month before Willis was murdered. However, prior to his release, Willis agreed to the no contact order being removed from his probation conditions, allowing unrestricted contact between the two. The two lived together on Cosby Avenue in Cambridge up until her death.
Other conditions of Ennals’s probation from the second-degree assault conviction included receiving mental health treatment and enrolling in domestic violence counseling at Mid-Shore Council for Family Violence. Court documents indicated that as of Sept. 27, he had not received any treatment or enrolled in the domestic violence counseling.
Willis’s niece Tykeshia Willis and sister-in-law Nianta Holloway were emphatic that the murder could have been avoided.
“This man never should have been let out,” Holloway said. “This (the earlier domestic violence case) should not have been contingent on Roshanda standing there and facing her accuser. She was scared.”
“This is the case of a woman who was under the spell of a man in a domestic violence situation. I can’t believe how many times they let him go,” said Willis’s niece. “She was scared; she was a battered woman.”
Dorchester County State’s Attorney Bill Jones said he understands and shares the family’s frustration, but could not comment on the situation due status of the current murder case.
Ennals is charged with first- and second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault. He is currently being held without bail in the Dorchester County Detention Center.
A preliminary hearing in the Dorchester District Court was scheduled for Oct. 18, but Ennals elected to waive the hearing, according to online court records.
The state’s attorney now has until Oct. 27 — the case’s felony dismissal date — to file an indictment in the circuit court. Once those documents are filed, the criminal proceedings will move forward. No appearance in the circuit court has been scheduled yet.
Willis’s family is seeking donations to defray the cost of her funeral online at https://gofund.me/51391d7b, and they are also seeking legal assistance for a minor child for whom Willis was a primary caregiver.
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