Baltimore man arrested for murder of aunt's estranged husband, authorities say
WASHINGTON - A Baltimore man has been arrested and charged with the gruesome murder of another Maryland man found dead in his car in Frederick County, police say.
On Jan. 10, police were dispatched to the 8200 block of Crum Road around 1:30 p.m. after a caller reported that there was a car sitting in a field with its blinkers on and it had been there since at least 7 a.m.
When deputies arrived, they found a 2003 Toyota Sequoia pushed back about 650 feet from the side of the road. The car was smeared with mud and blood, and inside, deputies found 66-year-old Brice Wendell Boots dead.
Deputies later went to Boots’ home to notify his next of kin of his death. While in the area authorities learned that Boots’ estranged wife, Frances Virginia Hamilton, was seen at Boots’ home the night before with a man believed to be her nephew. He was later identified as Keon Wilson-Hawkins.
The detectives learned that Boots and Hamilton were locked in a contentious divorce and that Boots had expressed fear for his safety from Hamilton on prior occasions.
A search of Boots’ residence was conducted on Jan. 11 and deputies found evidence indicating that a physical altercation had occurred within the home and that Boots had been forcibly abducted.
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Detectives obtained surveillance video from a business near Boots’ home which showed Hamilton and Wilson-Hawkins driving in the same car over to Boots’ residence on the evening of Jan. 9.
Cell phone records confirmed that Boots, Hamilton and Wilson-Hawkins were all at Boots’ residence from the evening of Jan. 9, through the early morning hours of Jan. 10.
According to detectives, Boots and Wilson-Hawkins then left the home at approximately 4:37 a.m. on Jan. 10 and took I-70 going toward Frederick. They then arrived in the 8200 block of Crum Road around 6:20 a.m. and Wilson-Hawkins left the area about 10 minutes later, going back to his home in west Baltimore.
Detectives made several attempts to contact Hamilton but were unable to reach her. She was later found dead from an apparent suicide on Feb. 24 in Anne Arundel County.
A grand jury indicted Wilson-Hawkins on March 8. He’s been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, kidnapping and carjacking.
He was taken into custody at approximately 6 a.m. on March 11 by Frederick County deputies along with U.S. Marshals.
Wilson-Hawkins waived a bond hearing and is being held without bond.