Men arrested last fall in connection to two separate killings were both indicted on murder charges by grand juries today (Monday), the Office of the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney has announced.
Rami El-Sayed, a 34-year-old Vienna resident, per court records, faces a second-degree murder charge for allegedly killing Cara Abbruscato, a 40-year-old Fairfax resident who was found dead in Burke Lake Park’s campgrounds on Sept. 30, 2023.
Abbruscato was discovered inside a tent at 7315 Ox Road with “evidence of trauma to the upper body,” the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release at the time. Though the exact cause of her death wasn’t released, police designated the case as a homicide and identified El-Sayed as a person of interest.
He was arrested in Paterson, New Jersey, on Oct. 1, 2023.
In the second case, Hiep Van Vo, a 43-year-old Annandale resident, has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge for allegedly shooting Charles Anthony Ashe Jr. at a Marriott hotel near Merrifield (3111 Fairview Park Drive) on Nov. 19, 2023.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue personnel who had responded to the Fairview Park hotel for an unrelated fire call found Ashe, a 44-year-old man from Maryland, near the elevators with “gunshot wounds to the upper body,” police said. He was transported to a hospital, where he died.
In a news release, the FCPD said a preliminary investigation suggested that Vo and Ashe knew each other, and Ashe was shot after he entered a hotel room where Vo was staying with four other people. Police said “evidence of narcotics” was found inside the room.
Vo was arrested on Nov. 20 outside a Giant grocery store in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
In addition to the murder charge, Vo was indicted today on two weapons charges: use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by someone previously convicted of a violent felony, according to the commonwealth’s attorney and court records.
“These tragic events leave a hole not only in the hearts of the victim’s families, but our entire community,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said. “Thankfully, Fairfax County Police made quick work of locating and apprehending both suspects with the help of law enforcement counterparts in other jurisdictions.”
El-Sayed and Vo are both scheduled to next appear in court on Thursday, May 23.
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