THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 18, 1996 TAG: 9605180281
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Investigators on Friday said the Navy man who fatally stabbed a co-worker earlier this week, possibly to silence a sexual-harassment complaint, may have conspired with at least one other person.
City detectives seized the cellular phone records of Quincy Brown after learning that the last call he made was to the woman he killed, according to a search-warrant affidavit filed Friday.
Brown's phone was found in his car outside the woman's apartment in the Windsor Oaks area after the woman's husband shot Brown to death.
The woman, 31-year-old Elise Makdessi, had made a videotape outlining her sexual-misconduct complaints shortly before she was killed, according to a friend who asked not to be named.
The friend said Elise Makdessi probably recorded the tape to name the people involved in a sexual misconduct or sexual harassment problem she was reportedly having at Oceana Naval Air Station. Makdessi apparently was not satisfied with how the complaint was handled, the friend said.
A Navy spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment Thursday and Friday.
It is not known, however, if Brown was the target of Elise Makdessi's complaint or if he is mentioned on the videotape. Brown, 37, and Elise Makdessi were co-workers and knew each other, a Navy spokesman has said.
Elise Makdessi put the videotape in a bank's safety-deposit box, the friend said. Investigators confirmed the existence of a videotape Friday but did not disclose its contents.
The friend said Elise Makdessi was transferred from her job as an air-traffic controller to telephone complaint-taker after she reported the alleged sexual misconduct to her superiors. Police said both Elise Makdessi and Brown had been temporarily reassigned recently, but would not elaborate.
The Makdessis had contacted a lawyer and were prepared to pursue charges against at least one of Elise Makdessi's co-workers when she was killed, the friend said.
Detectives confirmed Friday that they are investigating whether the slaying was in retaliation for Elise Makdessi's complaints. They said they seized items from the couple's apartment that backed up that theory.
Police also released a more detailed account of how the slayings happened.
According to Sgt. Tommy Baum, Eddie and Elise Makdessi were returning from dinner when Brown attacked them at their apartment's front door. Brown knocked out the husband and tied him up on the bedroom floor. Brown also tied Elise Makdessi to the bed and stabbed her several times before slitting her throat.
The slaying was a ``rage killing,'' one investigator said.
Eddie Makdessi, 32, woke up during the attack on his wife and wriggled free. He lunged for a nightstand, where his wife kept a revolver.
He shot Brown three times and called police.
According to acquaintances, the attack on Elise Makdessi was the last in a series of problems that the couple suffered after Elise made her complaint of alleged sexual harassment.
One of their cars was vandalized, and they frequently received telephone threats, the friend said. On at least one occasion, tires were slashed.
An investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity said police are considering the possibility that Brown conspired with others in Elise Makdessi's death. Brown's cellular phone records may show police who he spoke to before Makdessi was killed.
Authorities said the investigation could take several weeks.
KEYWORDS: MURDER by CNB