Last night, a commenter on this blog made the connection between a Washington Blade story identifying the victim of yesterday’s police shooting as David Kerstetter, and a 2003 Metro Weekly feature which highlighted the home Kerstetter shared with his now-deceased partner, Paul Brazitis. Kerstetter was shot and killed by police yesterday inside the condo—-part of Logan Circle’s Iowa building at 1325 13th St. NW—-after he allegedly threatened officers with a knife. A neighbor, who identified Kerstetter to the Blade, said that Kerstetter was suicidal and mourning Brazitis, who died in October of last year. Five years ago, 1325 13th St. was a very different place.
It looks like they had a nice home life, and a really nice home: Crown molding, antique Austrian china set, a $15,000 Viking stove. That was five years ago, when the couple had the luxury of agonizing over interior decorating. Now, both men are dead. After the whirlwind tour of Kerstetter and Brazitis’ immaculate home, the Metro Weekly piece ends this quote from Brazitis:

We didn’t consider having the inside of this [cabinet] stained — it was this ugly blonde wood inside. One day, I was in the other room painting and all the sudden there was this red mist through the entire house. David was [staining] this cabinet. All the new hardwood floors had red on them, the animals had red on them, we had red on us. That was one thing I should have put my foot down and said, “No!”

Photo from Metro Weekly.