Update: Police identify man arrested in D.C. driving car belonging to slain Nottingham graduate

Courtesy of American UniversitySue A. Marcum

Bethesda, Md. —A Nottingham High School graduate was killed in her Bethesda, Md. Home. Police in neighboring Washington arrested an 18-year-old man who was found driving her car.

Sue A. Marcum, 52, was found by a friend shortly before 11 a.m. Monday, Montgomery County police said in a release.

Her home, on the 6200 block of Massachusetts Avenue, had been broken into, police said, and she suffered trauma.

Tuesday morning, Washington police said they recovered a Jeep Cherokee believed to have been stolen from Marcum’s home.

The Washington Post reported: “Deandrew Hamlin, 18, was driving the Jeep on Benning Road NE late Monday when the vehicle passed a license plate recognition sensor, D.C. police spokeswoman Istmania Bonilla said. The sensor transmitted a message to police dispatchers that the Jeep, which had been reported stolen, was in the area."

"Police went to Benning Road and attempted to stop the Jeep, Bonilla said, then gave chase when Hamlin allegedly tried to drive away. The Jeep crashed into a crosswalk signpost at the intersection of New York Avenue and M Street NW. Hamlin, who police said lives in Northwest Washington, was taken into custody and charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and felony fleeing. “

Montgomery County homicide detectives and technicians interviewed the driver and performed a forensic examination of the Jeep Cherokee.

Marcum, a 1976 graduate of Nottingham, was a professor at American University in Washington. Her parents, Stanley and Helen Marcum, live in DeWitt.

“She wasn’t just my daughter,” said Helen Marcum, “she was my friend.”

Marcum had taught at American University since 1999. She also earned her BA in accounting and masters in taxation in AU.

Students at AU have created a page at Facebook. On it, she is remembered as energetic and smiling. One former student said she owed her entire career to Marcum. Another said, “If a professor can make managerial accounting interesting and fun, you now have a winner. She was one of the best professors I had in my four years at AU and will be missed tremendously.”

Marcum was also active in the volunteer work, serving with professional and community organizations, including the Greater Washington Society of CPAs.

At one point in her career, according to AU, Marcum was head of taxation for Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey.

The Washington Post reported that sources in law enforcement said the investigation pointed toward a burglary gone wrong.

The crime remains under investigation, police said.

The Associated Press Contributed to this report.
Contact Charles McChesney at cmcchesney@syracuse.com.