George Levern Sydnor Jr., 43, is facing a first-degree murder charge for breaking into a woman’s hotel room in Washington D.C. and stabbing her around two dozen times, even cutting her spinal column. Christy Bautista, 31, had gone to the city to attend a concert, her family stated, and they did not believe she knew her attacker.
Surveillance footage showed Bautista checking into the Ivy City Hotel and entering room 116, and within an hour, Sydnor was spotted in the hotel’s parking lot on a red bicycle. He appeared to slowly be looking around and observing the property. When he got off his bike, he started to listen at the door to Bautista’s room without ever knocking or announcing his presence. He entered the room at 6:45 p.m.
Witnesses heard a struggle and heard Bautista shouting for help. A woman nearby, who was smoking a cigarette, saw her in distress and called 911. Despite the 911 dispatch suggesting two men were involved, only Sydnor was found.
Police arrived at the door at 6:55 p.m. and heard a male voice inside. After identifying themselves as police, the male went silent. When the officers shined a flashlight through the window, they saw Sydnor with blood on his hand and he was attempting to light a cigarette.
Officers used a master key to enter the room and found Bautista on the ground near the door with multiple stab wounds. Sydnor was standing in front of the window and officers took him out of the room without incident. He had several lacerations on his right hand.
Police officers reported that they uncovered a Santoku-style kitchen knife with a red handle that was splintered and soaked in blood. They also said that Sydnor’s black jacket was on one of the beds in the room, and that the broken half of the knife was in the left pocket of the jacket. No other weapons were located in room 116.
At the autopsy, it was determined that Bautista had sustained around 30 sharp force injuries. Most of these wounds were found on the back of her body and were deep. In addition to the sharp force wounds, Bautista also had blunt force trauma to her ribs, two sharp force injuries to her scalp, and a stab wound that pierced her spinal column, which might have resulted in her paralysis.
The family of Christy Bautista issued a statement, expressing their grief and asking for privacy at this time. A GoFundMe page was created to support Bautista and her family, and as of Wednesday, more than $9,000 of the $10,000 goal had been raised.
At a police station, Sydnor allegedly said, without being asked, that his hand had been chopped with a knife. After being read his Miranda rights, however, he refused to speak without an attorney. Cops noticed that Sydnor had blood on his hands and a bandage on his right hand. His shoes, pants, and blue fleece vest were also stained with blood. He was additionally found to have two outstanding arrest warrants, one for attempted robbery in D.C. and another for theft between $25,000 and $100,000 in Maryland.
The lawyer for Sydnor, Jesse Winograd, declined to comment when asked by reporters. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 8th.