Alexandria man sentenced in snowball-fight killing
A 23-year-old from Alexandria is going to jail after a snowball fight that escalated into the killing of a West Virginia University student.
Tyler Baumann was sentenced Tuesday in West Virginia’s Monongalia County Circuit Court to one year in prison for involuntary manslaughter.
On February 12, 2006, a group of students, including Baumann, were sitting in front of a house on Beechurst Avenue in Morgantown, W.Va.
They launched snowballs at a group of students walking by, Morgantown police 1st Sgt. Harold Sperringer said.
The ensuing snowball fight escalated into a physical brawl involving “12 students or so,” Sperringer said. Ryan Johnston, 21, entered three or four feet into the house and was stabbed with a steak knife by Baumann.
Baumann was charged with second-degree murder. The Associated Press reported that defense attorneys claimed Johnston had grabbed the knife and that the stabbing occurred when Baumann wrestled it away from him in self-defense.
Baumann was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in October 2006. – Kashmir Hill
Pr. George’s toddler’s death ruled a homicide by police
The death of a Prince George’s County toddler on Monday was ruled a homicide, Prince George’s County police said.
At about 2:15 p.m. Monday, police responding to a call found 18-month-old Travis Terrel Taylor unconscious inside aresidence on the 3500 block of Parkway Terrace Drive.
The office of the chief medical examiner in Baltimore conducted an autopsy and ruled the manner of death to be homicide. Police did not provide any additional information. – Scott McCabe
