The ex-fiancé of a Navy chief found dead in her Jacksonville home only days after she was advanced is behind bars, charged with murdering her.

Danny Ray Beard, 36, was arrested by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and booked into a Duval County jail on Friday evening, according to his incarceration records. He’s being held without bond.

Authorities began probing the death of Chief Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Andrea L. Washington, 37, shortly after midnight on Sept. 17 when her body was discovered in her Itani Way home. She was assigned to the guided-missile cruiser Hue City, which is homeported in Mayport.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents joined in the case but the primary suspect always was Beard, a civilian.

Washington had filed a police report on Sept. 2 and a petition for a domestic violence protection order on Sept. 4 against him.

She alleged that he savagely beat her on Sept. 1 and “pulled a gun on me,” according to Duval County Court records obtained by Navy Times.

A circuit court judge granted a temporary protective order on Sept. 5 and a hearing to continue the temporary restraining order against Washington was scheduled for 12 days later but Washington never showed up.

She already was dead.

RELATED

Sailors who served under Washington told Navy Times in the wake of her death that she was the loving mother of three sons, knew every aspect of her demanding rating and always looked out for junior shipmates.

Turbine Systems Technician (Electrical) 2nd Class Tara Parramore remembered Washington as a leader who “was never afraid to get her hands dirty and went tip for tap with the male engineers."

An enlisted surface warfare specialist, Washington enlisted in May 2001 and served aboard the guided-missile destroyers Gonzalez and Laboon.

Her decorations included three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.

“Please don’t let her death and the manner in which she was murdered overshadow who she was or her flawless Navy career,” Parramore said in September.

About Carl Prine and

Prine came to Navy Times after stints at the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Geoff is the editor of Navy Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.

Share:
In Other News
No more stories