Woman Pleads Guilty for Involvement in Shooting of 15-Year-Old in Marriottsville

The third and last defendant charged in the execution-style shooting of a 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to kidnapping at Howard County Circuit Court on Monday.

Laura Christian Karr, 26, of Reistertown, admitted to helping Donald George Peoples and Chiquita Sketers kidnap the boy as he walked near his Reistertown Home on July 19, 2012, according to Wayne Kirwan, spokesperson for the Howard County state's attorney's office. 

The three transported the boy to a field in Marriottsville, ordered him out of the car, and then Peoples shot him the back of the head as the boy walked away. The defendants believed the boy had taken $200 from them in a marijuana deal, according to testimony in Peoples' trial.

The boy survived the shooting.

Assistant state's attorney Brian Furlong said the state would recommend a 15-year prison sentence for Karr, who cooperated with police and testified against Peoples during his trial, according to Kirwan.

Karr and Peoples were arrested during a dramatic police operation that left a man dead at Karr's home. The man, Ronald M. Cox, 48, swung a sword at Baltimore County police officers as they entered Karr's home in August 2012. Police opened fire and killed Cox.

A jury convicted Peoples of first-degree murder, kidnapping and additional charges on Nov. 22. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30.

Sketers previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder earlier this year and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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