Alexander Watson
Victims: Boontem Anderson, 34, Mary Elaine Shereika, 37, Lisa Kathleen Haenel, 14, and Debra Cobb, 37
Age at time of murders: 17-24
Crime dates: 1986-1994
Crime locations: Gambrills, Glen Burnie, and Forestville
Crimes: Home invasion, kidnapping, rape, and murder
Murder method: Stabbing and strangling
Sentence: Five life sentences, three without parole
Incarceration status: Incarcerated at the North Branch Correctional Institution
Summary
Between 1986 and 1994, Watson murdered four females, two of whom he also raped. He was apprehended for the 1994 murder of 37-year-old Debra Cobb, a crime for which he was sentenced to life without parole. Between 2003 and 2004, Watson was linked through DNA evidence to the murders of Boontem Anderson, 34, Mary Elaine Shereika, 37, and Lisa Kathleen Haenel, 14. Watson admitted to these crimes and was given additional life sentences.
Timeline of the crimes
October 6, 1986. Watson raped, stabbed, strangled, and murdered his friend’s mother Boontem Anderson in her Gambrills home. After raping and killing the mother of two, Watson left her naked and bound body in her bathtub for her fiancé’s 11-year-old son to find.
May 23, 1988. Watson attacked Mary Shereika as she jogged near her Gambrills home. He dragged her into a rye field and raped, beat, stabbed, strangled, and murdered her. Her partly naked body was later found by a farmer plowing his rye field.
January 15, 1993. Watson attacked Lisa Haenel in the Glen Burnie area as the 14-year-old went to school. He stabbed and strangled her to death and left her naked body in a ravine.
June 13, 1994. Watson stabbed Debra Cobb to death at an office in Forestville.
Details
Amy Caprio’s Killers
Victim: Amy Sorrells Caprio, 29
Killers: Dawnta Anthony Harris, 16, Darrell Jaymar Ward, 15, Eugene Robert Genius, 17, & Derrick Eugene Matthews, 16
Crime date: May 21, 2018
Crime location: Perry Hall
Crimes: Murder of a police officer
Murder method: Running over
Weapon: Jeep
Sentences: Matthews and Genius– 30 years; Ward–life in prison with all but 30 years suspended; Harris– life in prison with the possibility of parole
Incarceration status: Harris—North Branch Correctional Institution; Ward—Jessup Correctional Institution; Genius—Patuxent Institution; Matthews—Central Maryland Correctional Facility
Dawnta Harris
Summary of the crime
The situation began with the assailants burglarizing houses. Amy, a police officer, responded. She approached a car that was being driven by Harris. Harris began to exit the vehicle, but then re-entered and quickly accelerated, running over and killing Amy.
Details
Benjamin Garris
Victim: Sharon Edwards, 28
Age at time of murder: 16
Crime date: October 8, 1995
Crime location: Towson
Murder method: Stabbing 26 times
Weapon: Knife
Murder motivation: Escape
Sentence: Life in prison without parole (LWOP) plus 50 years.
Incarceration status: Incarcerated at the Western Correctional Institution
Summary of the crime
Garris was a resident of the Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, a psychiatric facility, from which he wanted to escape. He did accomplish his goal of escaping, but at the expense of Sharon Edwards, a nurse. He stabbed her over two dozen times, ignoring her pleas for her life. He even told Sharon, “You’re dead. That’s right, and now you’re nothing but a piece of meat.” He then set a fire and escaped. He was apprehended three weeks later.
Details
Donnell Graham
Victim: Patrick Ward, 29
Age at time of murder: 17
Crime date: August 5, 2011
Crime location: Bel Air
Crimes: Home invasion, robbery, and first-degree murder
Murder method: Stabbing
Convictions: Guilty plea to first-degree murder
Sentence: Life with parole
Patrick
Summary
Graham invaded the home of Patrick Ward, a 29-year-old blind man. He proceeded to stab Patrick to death. The fatal home-invasion robbery resulted in a life sentence for Graham.
Details
John Weed’s Killers
Names: Not available
Victim: John Marvin Weed, 59
Ages at time of murder: 15 & 16
Crime location: Fredrick, Maryland
Crime date: September 20, 2019
Weapon: Person
Murder method: Beating
Convictions: 15-year-old- guilty plea to involuntary manslaughter; 16-year-old- guilty plea to second-degree assault
Sentences: 15-year-old- behavior modification program; 16-year-old- probation and anger management
Summary
On September 20, 2019, John Weed went to The Great Frederick Fair in Fredrick, MD, with his family. While at the fair, John was approached by two teens and their friends. A 15-year-old asked him for a dollar. After John said no to the request and began to walk away, the teens followed him. The 16-year-old sucker-punched him in the back of the head. The 15-year-old then punched John with such force that he lost consciousness. As he lay on the ground the 16-year-old spat on him. John died from his injuries a day later.
The younger assailant pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to a long-term behavior modification program. The 16-year-old pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced to probation and anger management.
