Defense attorneys described the Bethesda man charged with murder in the death of a Silver Spring man in a house fire nearly two years ago as “weird,” “bizarre” and “unusual,” but argued the strangeness of the case shouldn’t equal a conviction.
Daniel Beckwitt, 27, is facing charges of second-degree “depraved heart” murder and involuntary manslaughter after a fire in his Danbury Road home trapped and killed Askia Khafra in September 2017.
His defense lawyers and state prosecutors wrapped up their cases with closing arguments Tuesday afternoon and the jury of nine women and three men started deliberations around 3 p.m.
Arguments continue to focus on whether the hoarding conditions in the house caused unsafe working conditions for Khafra, hired by Beckwitt to dig tunnels under the home as part of a plan to built a secret bunker.
“This is an accident,” defense attorney Robert Bonsib said. “An accident in a house occupied by a strange young man that had a friend that worked with him in a very strange situation.”
Bonsib mentioned Beckwitt’s courtroom demeanor, constantly fidgeting and passing notes to his lawyers, to portray him as a deeply intelligent and unconventional man, comparable to the idiosyncratic main character in the television show “Big Bang Theory.”
But, Bonsib maintained, Beckwitt’s quirks do not make him responsible for Khafra’s death.
“There is nothing in this case that Mr. Beckwitt had any expectation that he was putting Mr. Khafra in such a high degree of risk,” Bonsib said.
Beckwitt, who became rich in stock trading, did not take the stand during the nearly two-week trial in Circuit Court. He was building the bunker fearing a nuclear attack from North Korea, according to records in the case.
Judge Margaret Schweitzer outlined the two charges Beckwitt faces prior to closing arguments, telling the jury that depraved-heart murder is the “killing of another person while acting with extreme disregard of human life,” while manslaughter requires prosecutors to “prove the defendant acted in a grossly negligent manner.”
State prosecutors based their closing argument around the theory that Beckwitt’s risky behaviors regarding the tunnel digging left him responsible for Khafra’s death, even though the fire killed him.
Beckwitt didn’t create a proper exit from the tunnel, failed to provide a reliable communication system and left his employees dependent on him alone, prosecutor Marybeth Ayres said
“The defendant caused the inability to escape the fire and that’s what caused Askia’s death,” Ayres said. “This was a survivable fire, and we know that because the defendant survived.”
Khafra’s parents have filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Beckwitt and the county is awaiting the outcome of court cases to determined whether the house, which has been cordoned off for months, should be demolished.
