Suspect named in the murder of beloved Prince George’s County 2nd grade teacher
(Mariame Toure Sylla, Image credit: Twitter)
Following an extensive investigation, Maryland’s Prince George’s County Police Department’s (PGPD) Homicide Unit has identified and charged a suspect with the murder of 59-year-old Mariame Sylla of Greenbelt. Ms. Sylla was reported missing in the city of Greenbelt in late July. Police identified their murder suspect as 33-year-old Harold Francis Landon III of University Park.
At this time, there is no indication that Landon and Sylla knew each other.
Mariame Toure Sylla, 59, was a beloved second- and third-grade teacher at Maryland’s Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in Greenbelt where she taught for the last 20 years. On the evening of July 29, she went for a walk to Schrom Hills Park, not far from her Prince George’s County, but never returned home, according to The Washington Post.
On August 1 at approximately 6:20 p.m., PGPD patrol officers responded to the 7300 block of Old Alexander Ferry Road in Clinton after human remains were located outside. The PGPD’s Homicide Unit also responded to the scene and opened a death investigation. DNA testing recently confirmed those remains are Ms. Sylla.
An autopsy is being conducted to determine her cause of death, although reportedly her remains were found to be decapitated and dismembered, according to WUSA 9 News. Investigators are also working to determine where and when she was murdered.
Through various investigative techniques, Landon was identified as the suspect. He has been in the custody of the Department of Corrections since August 1 on an unrelated assault charge. PGPD Homicide Unit detectives filed first degree murder charges against him on September 1 for the Sylla’s murder. The motive for the murder remains under investigation.
The Washington Post shared that Landon was charged with first- and second-degree murder, two counts of assault and disposing a body in an unauthorized location.
“Ms. Sylla was a beloved teacher and member of the Greenbelt community. Her murder is tragic. We hope the arrest of Landon provides some comfort to her family and all who knew and loved her. I thank the women and men of our Homicide Unit, the Greenbelt Police Department, and all of our partner agencies for their relentless effort to find Ms. Sylla’s murderer and hold him accountable,” said Chief Malik Aziz.
If anyone has information relevant to this investigation, they are asked to please call detectives at 301-516-2512.
Anyone with information who wants to contact Crime Solvers may call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, or use the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto your mobile device.) You can remain anonymous. Please refer to case number 23-045022.
For more on Sylla’s tragic murder, see the video accompanying this article.
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(Source and Harold Francis Landon III mugshot: PGPD)
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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