Two people have been arrested in a quadruple homicide that claimed the lives of a three and four-year-old, their mother and their aunt, Prince George’s County Police announced Saturday.
Darrell Lynn Bellard, 43, of Dickinson, Texas, and Tkeisha Nicole Gilmer, 18, of Texas City, Texas were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. They are being held without bond by the county’s Department of Corrections.
Police identified the victims, all of Lanham, Md., as Shayla Shante Sikyala, 3, Shakur Sylvester Sikyala, 4, Dawn Yvette Brooks, 38, the mother of the two juvenile victims, and Mwasiti Sikyala, 41, the aunt of the two juvenile victims.
Police received a call about 2:45 a.m. Friday about an assault at a residence in the 6800 block of Third Street, and what they found was “horrific,” said Prince George’s County Police Chief Roberto Hylton. The four victims were found shot, their bodies surrounded by trash in conditions “that no human being should be living in,” Hylton said.
The two adult victims were connected to Bellard and Gilmer through the sale of marijuana, said Prince George’s police spokesman Officer Evan Baxter.
“Due to the rapid response and attention to detail by patrol officers and detectives, the suspects were quickly apprehended,” said Hylton. “I’m very proud of my Department.”
The victims had been living in the space above the garage, which had no running water or toilet facilities, according to police. Officials marked the property with a bright orange sign after declaring the garage and the home uninhabitable Friday afternoon.
Prince George’s County health department officials inspected the living area and the home Friday afternoon to make sure it was safe for police to investigate the scene. Officers and recruits checking for evidence wore protective masks, boots, gloves and special suits.
Dr. Donald Shell, a county health officer, called the living conditions deplorable and unsanitary and compared it to a “junkyard.”
“It’s not somewhere where we’d want to lay our heads to sleep,” Shell said, saying health officials found mold inside the garage living area and signs of rodents burrowing and nesting near the garage.
Examiner Staff Writer Emily Babay and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
