Montgomery County Police Arrest Suspect in Cold Case Homicide

The murder took place in 1995.Amir Jalil Ali  (Photo from Montgomery County Police Deparatment)Rockville, Md (KM) A suspect has been arrested for a three-decades-old homicide in Montgomery County.  At a news conference on Wednesday, Police Chief Marc Yamada announced that Amir Jalil Ali, 62, was arrested on Tuesday in Laurel..  He is charged with the September, 1995 murder of Denna Campbell, 24, who was a Washington DC Police Officer at the time.“This arrest closes one of the longest standing cold cases for our department,” says Chief Yamada. “Officer Campbell was just 24 years old at the time of her death. She was a four-year veteran of the Metropolitan DC Police Department and was assigned to their seventh district.”Montgomery County Police say Ali, who was know as Kenneth Burnell Wonsom, shared an apartment in White Oak with Officer Campbell.  She was found shot to death on Saturday, September 16th, 1995. Wonsom told police he left the apartment at about 3:00 AM to go to the store. When he returned, he says he found Campbell unresponsive. He called 911 and said a burglary had occurred at the apartment in the 1500 block of Heather Hollow Road, and his girl friend had been shot.In 1995, Wonsom was originally charged with Campbell’s murder, but the charges were dropped. He changed his name to Amir Jalil Ali in 2021.Montgomery County Police say detectives re-examined the evidence from the case, and reviewed the details from the original files.  A warrant was issued for Ali’s arrest on August 3rd, 2025.On hand for Wednesday’s news conference was Andre Wright, the Executive Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department. “Officer Denna Campbell was just embarking on a promising career with the DC Police Department when a senseless act of violence took place,” he said.“Today’s news doesn’t bring  Officer Campbell back to her family, her community or our department,” Wright continued. “But we hope it can bring some form of closure for all of those who have carried the burden of that tragedy for over three decades.”By Kevin McManus