Aberdeen Police make arrest in triple homicide investigation; victims identified
A Bel Air man has been charged in connection with a triple homicide on April 15, Aberdeen Police say.
At 5:34 a.m., Aberdeen officers were notified by the city firefighters of suspicious conditions during a fire investigation at an apartment on Roosevelt Avenue. Fire crews saw “nothing evident” when they arrived but later found “smoke conditions and sprinkler activation.”
Once officers were inside the apartment, they found three deceased residents — John Claytor, 54, Talaya Wiley, 48 and Melissa Williams, 45 – all with traumatic injuries consistent with a homicide, according to an Aberdeen Poice news release.
Police say they identified Michael Swann, 35, who was wanted on warrants for attempted murder in a Prince George’s County shooting in February and federal parole violation, as a person of interest early in the investigation, the release said.
Detectives began working with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Warrant Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshals to apprehend Swann while detectives continued to investigate the events of April 15.
According to police, surveillance teams spotted Swann April 23 at an apartment in the unit block of Pritchard Avenue in Aberdeen. After a brief standoff, Swann was taken into custody, police said.
Three days after Swann’s arrest, detectives received confirmation that the DNA evidence collected in the Roosevelt Avenue apartment linked Swann to the three murders, according to the news release. Swann was charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree arson, reckless endangerment and other charges.
Swann is currently being held at the Harford County Detention Center without bond. No defense attorney is listed in electronic court records.