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D.C. Officer Was Lead Detective on 1973 Mass Murder Case
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Daniel D. Boccabella Sr., 72, a retired D.C. police officer who was the lead detective in a 1973
mass murder case, died June 25 at a hospice in Cape Coral, Fla. He had complications from
melanoma.
Mr. Boccabella, known as Danny, joined the D.C. police department in 1960 and eventually
became a sergeant and detective supervisor.
On at least two occasions during almost two decades on the force, he found himself in the right
place at the right time, according to reports in The Washington Post. On a March night in 1968,
plainclothesman Boccabella was walking two friends to their car on K Street SW when two men
approached them, one pulling a gun and saying: "Be quiet. Give me all your money." Mr.
Boccabella, who was off duty, pulled his service revolver instead of his money. The
would-be robbers fled.
Later that year, then-Sgt. Boccabella was on his way to a police garage and was waiting for a
light at 18th and G streets NW when a man who had just robbed Burk Jewelers ran past on the
sidewalk. The officer leaped from his car and arrested the suspect, who was literally holding
the bag -- a gray paper bag filled with watches, rings and cash.
His highest-profile investigation was the 1973 execution-style slaying of seven people at a house on 16th Street NW that was the
national headquarters of the Hanafi Madhab Moslems, as the group was called at the time. The assailants fatally shot two men
and drowned five children, including a 9-day-old boy, reportedly in retaliation for letters written by the group's leader that
criticized Elijah Muhammad, founder and head of the Nation of Islam.
Sgt. Boccabella spent several months traveling the country, following leads and tips, which resulted in the apprehension and
indictment of eight Black Muslims from Philadelphia, five of whom were convicted.
Daniel Dominic Boccabella Sr. was born in the District and graduated from McKinley Technical High School. After serving
with the Army in Europe for three years, he joined the D.C. police.
He retired from the Organized Crime Branch in 1979 and moved to Cape Coral, where he owned AllCape Realty until a second
retirement in 1999.
His first wife, the former Cynthia Ann Abbott, died in 2003.
Survivors include his wife of a year, Peggy Clarke Hodges-Boccabella of Cape Coral; two children from his first marriage,
Daniel D. Boccabella Jr. of Gainesville, Fla., and Christy Boccabella-Brown of St. Petersburg, Fla.; a sister; and a
granddaughter.
-- Joe Holley
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Daniel D. Boccabella Sr., 72, a retired D.C. police officer who was the lead detective in a 1973
mass murder case, died June 25 at a hospice in Cape Coral, Fla. He had complications from
melanoma.
Mr. Boccabella, known as Danny, joined the D.C. police department in 1960 and eventually
became a sergeant and detective supervisor.
On at least two occasions during almost two decades on the force, he found himself in the right
place at the right time, according to reports in The Washington Post. On a March night in 1968,
plainclothesman Boccabella was walking two friends to their car on K Street SW when two men
approached them, one pulling a gun and saying: "Be quiet. Give me all your money." Mr.
Boccabella, who was off duty, pulled his service revolver instead of his money. The
would-be robbers fled.
Later that year, then-Sgt. Boccabella was on his way to a police garage and was waiting for a
light at 18th and G streets NW when a man who had just robbed Burk Jewelers ran past on the
sidewalk. The officer leaped from his car and arrested the suspect, who was literally holding
the bag -- a gray paper bag filled with watches, rings and cash.
His highest-profile investigation was the 1973 execution-style slaying of seven people at a house on 16th Street NW that was the
national headquarters of the Hanafi Madhab Moslems, as the group was called at the time. The assailants fatally shot two men
and drowned five children, including a 9-day-old boy, reportedly in retaliation for letters written by the group's leader that
criticized Elijah Muhammad, founder and head of the Nation of Islam.
Sgt. Boccabella spent several months traveling the country, following leads and tips, which resulted in the apprehension and
indictment of eight Black Muslims from Philadelphia, five of whom were convicted.
Daniel Dominic Boccabella Sr. was born in the District and graduated from McKinley Technical High School. After serving
with the Army in Europe for three years, he joined the D.C. police.
He retired from the Organized Crime Branch in 1979 and moved to Cape Coral, where he owned AllCape Realty until a second
retirement in 1999.
His first wife, the former Cynthia Ann Abbott, died in 2003.
Survivors include his wife of a year, Peggy Clarke Hodges-Boccabella of Cape Coral; two children from his first marriage,
Daniel D. Boccabella Jr. of Gainesville, Fla., and Christy Boccabella-Brown of St. Petersburg, Fla.; a sister; and a
granddaughter.
-- Joe Holley
Daniel D. Boccabella Sr.
investigated the
execution-style slaying of
seven people at a Northwest
house.
(Family Photo)
investigated the
execution-style slaying of
seven people at a Northwest
house.
(Family Photo)