Baltimore man convicted in kidnapping, murder of man found dead outside Annapolis middle school
A Baltimore man was found guilty Monday in the brutal 2024 kidnapping and murder of a man whose body was discovered outside a middle school in Annapolis.
A jury convicted 37-year-old Marquis Mayo of felony first-degree murder, kidnapping and use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 30, 2026.
On March 28, 2024, 47-year-old David Winchester Jr. was found naked and dead with gunshot wounds to the back of his head in a wooded area near the track and field at Wiley H. Bates Middle School.
Police found Winchester on top of his pants, which had been removed before the killing. A nearby resident told police they heard what sounded like two pops between 1:30 and 3 a.m.
Hours after Winchester's body was discovered, Annapolis detectives learned that he had allegedly been abducted in Baltimore City.
According to Baltimore police, Winchester's mother was awakened by a knock at her door. A suspect told her that her son was being held hostage in a car outside.
As she began to open the door, the woman saw a handgun and tried to shut the door. Police said two men then forced their way inside.
The woman's daughter looked down the stairwell and saw one man pointing a handgun at her mother's head while demanding money, according to police. A second man stood nearby armed with a rifle.
Police said the daughter ran to her mother's room, with the man carrying the rifle chasing after her. He tried to break through the door before firing two shots through it.
The daughter and her young child were not injured.
Both men then fled without taking any money, driving away in a blue vehicle with Winchester inside, police said.
Investigators later used surveillance and license plate reader footage to track the vehicle to Annapolis.
License plate reader footage showed a blue Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross on West Street around 1:45 a.m. About 10 minutes later, security footage from the track and field at Wiley H. Bates Middle School showed headlights from a vehicle turning into the parking lot.
The footage then showed two quick flashes of light, which investigators said were consistent with Winchester being shot twice, before the vehicle fled the scene.
Additional footage showed the vehicle traveling on Taylor Avenue and leaving the Annapolis area shortly after 2 a.m.
Detectives identified the Mitsubishi's registered owner as Monae Fincher of Baltimore. Investigators said Fincher was the ex-wife of Jamar Fincher, who had recently been released from prison.
A witness told police that Mayo was involved in the killing. Mayo, Jamar Fincher and Monae Fincher were all charged in connection with the case.
"Today's guilty verdict marks the third individual held accountable in the death of David Winchester Jr.," Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said. "David Winchester's family was victimized twice — during the home invasion and senseless murder of their son, who was kidnapped in Baltimore, stuffed in a trunk, and killed in a wooded area near a school. I am grateful that we were able to bring justice for them today."
