2 Women Severed Thumb of Slain ‘Sugar Daddy’ and Used it to Buy Liquor, Marijuana and Uber Rides, Police Say

Two women are accused of murdering a “sugar daddy” and severing his thumb to buy liquor, marijuana and Uber rides. (Photo: AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

NBC 4 Washington reported on Monday that local police charged two women with the murder of Fasil Teklemariam, a man referred to as a “sugar daddy” by a witness. An investigation revealed Teklemariam’s thumb was severed, and authorities believe the two women used his thumb to gain access to a wallet on his cell phone and pay for Uber rides, liquor and marijuana.

22-year-old Tiffany Taylor Gray, who The New York Post reported is an escort, was charged with murdering Teklemariam on July 1.  Authorities claim she drew him to his Washington, D.C. apartment on April 1, when he was last seen alive, and believe she is responsible for his murder with at least one cohort.

Fox reported that CCTV footage captured Teklemariam entering his apartment with another woman reported to be an acquaintance of Gray, a 19-year-old named Audrey Denise Miller. Miller also faces murder charges for Teklemariam’s slaying and was arrested on June 21. The outlet additionally reported that two unidentified men were captured on surveillance cameras, and police believe these men were also connected to Teklemariam’s murder in some way.

The Post reported that footage showed Teklemariam leaving his apartment after entering it with Miller, and then returning with three Coca-Colas on the last night he was seen alive.

On April 5, the police entered the apartment and found his body with multiple stab wounds. His right thumb was missing, according to an affidavit. The Post reported that a witness claimed to the police that the two women used, “the decedent’s thumb to obtain money from the decedent’s account.” Authorities concluded that the murderers used chemicals to clean up the more gruesome aspects of the crime scene. They additionally claimed two women and two men were spotted attempting to get into Teklemariam’s apartment after he died and removed items from his living space.

Teklemariam was a married father of two, according to Fox, and he sustained blunt force trauma in addition to the multiple stab wounds. An anonymous witness, whom The Post identified simply as “Witness 5” claimed Gray referred to Teklemariam as her “sugar daddy.”

Authorities say Gray has a history of meeting men online and stealing from them. Police honed in on Grey after they uncovered a complaint Teklemariam filed against Grey in 2023. Teklemariam accused Gray of stealing his phone and trying to withdraw $1,800 from it through his Cash App account.

Maryland police became interested in Gray as a suspect after another man reported a robbery, claiming Gray was one of the perpetrators. According to Fox, the man reported that he connected with Gray on a dating app and when he went to meet her, two men apparently jumped out, pulled a gun on him and robbed him. The suspects drove off in a black Dodge Durango. The unidentified male victim claimed the suspects made him share pin information, and when he went home his house was burglarized. Gray faces charges of armed robbery and kidnapping in this separate case.

Authorities claim threads kept pointing to Gray after the Dodge used in that robbery was found parked outside Teklemariam’s apartment the night he was murdered. Police stopped the vehicle and its driver, a man named Tommy Whack, at a traffic stop and noticed items of clothing that matched the suspects leaving Teklemarim’s apartment in early April. Whack is charged with unidentified crimes.

The Post reported that police are offering a $25,000 reward for anyone involved in Teklemariam’s murder.

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