Bethesda Employee Keith Little Stabs Boss Death For Not Giving Him Raise

BETHESDA, Md. - A major break in the murder of a Montgomery County Suburban Hospital employee. Thursday police arrested 49-year old Keith Little, who also worked at Suburban Hospital. It's not the first time he's been accused of killing a co-worker.

Early in the investigation police believed this was likely an inside job. Police say surveillance video at the hospital didn't show anything unusual and the boiler room where Roosevelt Brockington, Jr. was murdered can only be accessed by someone with a key. Police say the suspect worked for Brockington and killed him because he wasn't getting a raise.

"The victim in this case was Mr. Little's supervisor and he had recently reprimanded Mr. Little and had given him a performance evaluation in which Mr. Little was not going to get a raise in salary. We believe this may have been the motive for the homicide," said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger.

A tip came in late last night leading to Little. Police say a hospital worker saw Little last night filling a bucket with chemically treated water and inside it, a ski mask and black gloves. Police later found them in a trash can.

"We reviewed the security cameras when we got there and saw that Mr. Little was... hiding something in a trash can inside the boiler room," Manger said. Police searched the trash can and found a black hat with eye holes cut out and gloves.

The hospital was on lockdown for four hours New Year's day while police searched the hospital for a suspect. The hat and gloves weren't found until after the tip came in. Police say the boiler room is a large area with a lot of equipment where something small like a hat and gloves could be hidden without police finding it.

The autopsy showed Brockington had been stabbed more than 70 times. Police say the excessive stab wounds or "overkill" appears to be an act of apparent rage.

"He was extremely angry and this was a personal issue," said Captain David Gillespie, commander of the major crimes division.

It’s the second time Little has been accused of killing someone on the job. He was tried and acquitted of murdering a co-worker at a D.C. apartment complex nearly eight years ago where he worked in maintenance too.

The police report said Little shot him six time because the worker accused him of stealing and entering apartments without permission.

This time, police say it was a different disagreement but with the same result. Police say a friend on the phone with Brockington around 9:45 a.m., heard someone say "give me your money" and then "you got anymore?" while Brockington begged the suspect not to hurt him.

"There was a commotion that occurred and then the phone went dead," Manger said.

Brockington started his shift at 5:15 a.m., replacing Little. According to police, hospital records show Little clocked out and surveillance video shows him near the hospital exit. Interestingly enough, court documents do not indicate that surveillance video ever showed Little actually leaving.

When questioned by police the day of the murder, Little provided an alibi, saying he went to his sister's house in Gaithersburg, slept for several hours then spent the rest of the day helping her to move.

A witness says police searched Little's home in Lanham, Maryland digging through the trash cans for evidence. Police say the murder weapon, a knife, was found at the crime scene.

The hospital president read a statement but would not take questions. Police say it appears the hospital was unaware of Little's previous murder arrest.

A hospital official says all workers go through an extensive background check done by an outside contractor and if someone is not convicted, an arrest would not show up.

READ KEITH LITTLE'S COURT DOCUMENTS FROM 2003 MURDER CHARGE

http://media.myfoxdc.com/Documents/KeithLittleDCCourtDoc.pdf

Statement from the family of Roosevelt Brockington, Jr.

The parents of Roosevelt Brockington, Jr. have requested that police issue the following statement on their behalf:

We would like to express our gratitude to the administration and staff of Suburban Hospital and to the Montgomery County Police Department. The hospital has provided excellent support to us during this horrible ordeal. We are particularly grateful to the detectives who have so thoroughly investigated our sons murder and brought this case to closure so quickly.

We now ask that members of the media respect our privacy at this time as we grieve the loss of our son.