A Maryland man convicted of killing and dismembering a second grade teacher in 2023 has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Harold Landon III was convicted in June in the murder of Mariame Toure Sylla, a 59-year-old teacher at the Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in Greenbelt who disappeared after she went for her regular walk near her home on July 29, 2023, WRC reported.
On August 1, police were alerted to human remains in a retention pond 20 miles away in Clinton, as CrimeOnline reported. The remains turned out to be Sylla’s torso, which was identified by DNA. No other remains were ever found.
Landon was arrested and charged with her murder. A witness photographed him in the area of pond, where he was seen dumping something and then washing his hands in the pond.
Landon’s attorneys argued that he didn’t recall the attack because of his drug use, further arguing that he had a bad childhood. But prosecutors contented otherwise.
“This act was not caused by some type of rage based on substance abuse; it was premeditated. It was calculated before, during and after,” Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.
There was no connection between the two. Sylla was originally from the Ivory Coast and was nearing retirement when she was murdered.
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[Featured image: Mariame Toure Sylla and Harold Landon III/Greenbelt Police Department]
