PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, MARYLAND: A 33-year-old Maryland man, Harold Francis Landon III, has been accused of killing a beloved teacher from Greenbelt, the 59-year-old Mariam Sylla.
Landon, who was arrested on August 1 for an unrelated domestic violence case and kept in custody ever since, has been named as the prime suspect in the murder of Sylla, who was reported missing on July 29.
When did Mariame Sylla go missing?
The second- and third-grade teacher at Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in the Prince George's County school district, Mariame Toure Sylla was reported missing in late July.
She “did not return” from her usual walk near the Schrom Hills Park Path, said the Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz during a press conference on Friday, September 1, reports ABC News.
Per The Washington Post, the missing person report was filed on July 30. PGCP Chief Aziz said during Friday’s briefing, on August 1, that a “concerned citizen” informed the police department about some human remains found beside a pond at the Old Alexandria Ferry Road, near Joint Base Andrews.
Aziz said that “a dismembered body was discovered” which led to DNA testing. While the entire testing is not yet done, the preliminary results are enough to determine the body is of the primary school teacher Mariame Sylla.
How was Harold Francis Landon III identified as the suspect?
Investigations led police to suspect the University Park resident Harold Francis Landon III to be the primary suspect in Sylla’s death.
While the police did not specifically mention how they came to identify Landon as the suspect, they said they received a tip from a person who witnessed the dismembered body being dumped.
The unidentified witness, who claimed to have taken a photograph, had told the police that they witnessed a white pickup truck near the pond on July 31 at around 9.30 pm. They saw a man, wearing blue jeans and blue shirt, dump something on the rocks and “appeared to clean his hands in the water.”
The surveillance camera footage of the park also confirmed the presence of a white pickup truck in the parking lot.
Police said in the court documents per The Washington Post, on August 1, when Landon was arrested for an unrelated case, he was seen driving a white 2004 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with Florida license plates.
The police presume both of the two vehicles are same. They also found the cellphone tower records show both Landon and Sylla were at Schrom Hills shortly after 7 pm on July 29, “when the decedent is last presumed to be alive.”
Police said that people who know Landon identified him from surveillance images.
Per ABC, the police filed first-degree murder charges against Landon on Friday for the murder of Sylla.
He was scheduled for his first appearance on Friday, September 1, and a probable bond review coming up on Tuesday, September 5.
