A Prince William County judge revoked the $5,000 bond for a Virginia man who is accused of killing his girlfriend and her young child in a car crash.
Friday’s decision came after prosecutors presented dashcam evidence from the car of Mustafa Aljazairi, 34, of Stafford, WTOP news partner NBC Washington reported.
Prosecutors said a lip reader interpreted Dorothy Fontaine, of Woodbridge, saying, “No! Empress is in the car,” referring to her 5-year-old daughter.
Both Fontaine and her daughter were killed on Apr. 5, 2023, when the 2007 Chrysler 300 Aljazairi was driving veered into oncoming traffic near Fortuna Center Plaza on Dumfries Road, striking a 2013 Chevrolet Suburban.
Aljazairi’s attorney Blake Weiner argued against revoking bond based on that evidence.
“It states nothing about whether or not the deceased thought my client was doing it intentionally,” Weiner told NBC Washington.
Crash scene investigators said there were no skid marks from heavy braking and damage was focused on the passenger side.
Weiner said that was not evidence supporting that his client is a danger.
“I believe the testimony of the witness supports directly our theory, which is that he was trying to maintain control, which is what you’d want to try to do if you were in a desperate, dangerous situation with your vehicle,” he said.
More convincing to the judge, prosecutors said Aljazairi threatened a jail guard, saying he knew the guard’s home address and would find her when he got out.
The trial is set for early December.