A Baltimore teenager could spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of raping and murdering his 83-year-old neighbor, prosecutors announced on Wednesday. According to New York Post, the August 2018 incident occurred when Tyrone Harvin was 14 years old.
The victim, identified as Dorothy Mae Neal, was found unresponsive in her apartment in the aftermath of the attack. She was subsequently transported to a hospital where succumbed to her injuries. A jury found the now-17-year-old boy guilty of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and weapons offenses in connection with the incident.
“Coming to terms with our youngest homicide defendant to date, raping and killing one of our seniors is devastating,” Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said in a statement. “It means the loss of two lives.”
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Baltimore police officers went to Neal’s apartment after neighbors who had not seen her for a while called 911. When the officers got there, they discovered dried blood at the entrance of her home. Mosby said the deceased woman was lying on the ground when the officers found her, and she was unresponsive and naked at the time.
The evidence investigators found at the crime scene included bloody clothing, multiple condom wrappers, and condoms that had been used. Prosecutors also said a bloody and broken lamp that was found was the weapon was used to kill the victim.
Fingerprints that were found on the condom wrappers matched Harvin’s, and DNA also linked him to the crime. Mosby also Neal’s blood was found on the murder weapon.
An autopsy that was done on Neal revealed she suffered trauma to her head and genitals, New York Post reported. A coroner also ruled that her death was caused by multiple injuries with complications.
During the trial, Harvin’s attorneys raised questions about the accuracy of the DNA software that determined his samples were on the murder weapon, per the Baltimore Sun.
And though prosecutors did not highlight the motive behind the killing, police said Harvin went to Neal’s house to help her with chores before she was raped and murdered. But in 2018, Harvin’s family denied the teen was behind the fatal incident.
“I know my son wouldn’t do nothing like this,” Harvin’s mother told the Baltimore Sun.
Harvin’s sentencing date is scheduled for January. “I’ve said repeatedly we must do more to reach out to young people early, before they become entangled in the criminal justice system,” Mosby said. “And today exemplifies how dire that need is.”
