The son of a former White House official waived bond during a court appearance Tuesday afternoon, reported News4's Mark Segraves.
Claude Allen, 20, admitted to using a hatchet to kill 25-year-old Michael P. Harvey, according to charging documents obtained by News4.
The killing happened around midnight Friday in the garage of Allen's family's home in Gaithersburg after a dispute over a drug deal, authorities said.
Allen was not in court Tuesday but appeared on closed-circuit television. While none of his family members were present, several of Harvey's were. They were seen crying in the courtroom, reported Segraves.
Allen has been charged with first-degree murder.
He is the son of former George W. Bush White House staffer Claude Alexander Allen, who was convicted of shoplifting in 2006.
A witness told authorities Friday that the younger Allen asked him to help dispose of Harvey's body. The witness, who is not a family member, was inside the home at the time of the killing, authorities said.
That man saw Allen came in from the garage with bloody hands, according to charging documents. Allen then told him that he'd killed an intruder and had the witness help dump Harvey's body into a trash can, according to the documents.
The witness then fled the house and called 911.
Police say Allen also called 911 just after midnight Friday, and reported that he had killed a would-be burglar at his home. He told authorities that Harvey attacked him with a hatchet, which Allen wrestled away and then used on Harvey.
Officers soon determined there had been no burglary attempt, and that Allen and Harvey knew each other.
They say Allen then confessed to killing Harvey in the home's garage.
A pretrial hearing is set for June 1, unless Allen is indicted first, Segraves reported.
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