Greenbelt, MD – Harold Francis Landon III received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of Mariame Toure Sylla. A jury convicted Landon, 34, of first-degree murder for Sylla’s death on July 29, 2023.
Judge Carol Coderre delivered the sentence on Friday in the 7th Judicial Circuit Court.
Sylla, 59, was attacked during a walk near her home in Schrom Hills Park. Her torso was discovered days later in a pond in Clinton, approximately 20 miles from Greenbelt.
Search efforts were launched by the community when she did not return home.
Evidence presented at trial included Sylla’s DNA found on Landon’s boots along with her clothing in his truck.
Landon’s cellphone was also traced to the area where Sylla vanished.
Surveillance footage appeared to show a body in a black bag in Landon’s pickup.
In a significant piece of evidence, Landon was recorded during a jailhouse phone call apparently confessing to the murder, stating he let “the savage inside of me out.”
He was arrested on an unrelated assault charge on the same day that Sylla’s remains were found and charged with murder a month later.
Authorities indicated the assault was random as Sylla and Landon did not know each other.
Investigators believe she was strangled before being dismembered, though the precise cause of death remains unestablished.
Prosecutor Aisha Braveboy described Sylla as a caring person, adding that her murder shook the community deeply.
Landon’s defense claimed a troubled childhood influenced his actions, asserting he acted under the influence of drugs.
Prosecutors contested this narrative, insisting the crime was premeditated.
Braveboy articulated the brutality of the act, underscoring Landon’s attempt to conceal evidence of his crime.
The jury’s verdict resulted in Landon being effectively severed from the community.
David Harris contributed to this report.
