78-Year-Old Man Takes 20-Year Plea for Fatally Stabbing Girlfriend Last Year

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A 78-year-old Baltimore man pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his girlfriend in February 2021 after he accused her of being unfaithful in their relationship.

During a hearing on Sept. 6 in Baltimore City Circuit Court, Ronald Tazewell accepted the prosecution’s guilty plea of 40 years, suspending all but 20 years for second-degree murder, a lesser charge than his original charge of first-degree murder.

Tazewell previously rejected a plea of life, suspending all but 30 years, with five years probation for first-degree murder last February, nearly a year after the incident.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, Tazewell stood in a faded yellow jumpsuit beside his defense attorney, Deborah Levi, as the prosecutor detailed the facts of the case before Judge Charles Blomquist.

According to the prosecution, officers with the Baltimore Police Department were called to an apartment complex on the 500 block of Dolphin Street for reports of a cutting shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2021. When officers arrived, they found 57-year-old Stephanie Chandler lying in a pool of blood on the living room floor.

Investigation revealed that Chandler had called the front desk and asked that Tazewell be escorted out of the building. Tazewell was later seen with blood on his hands and clothes and called the property manager to confess and turn himself in to the police. A knife was found in the kitchen sink, which was linked to the 18 stab wounds medical examiners found on Chandler’s body.

Following the prosecution’s statements, Levi noted for the record that Tazewell was heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident. Defense counsel added that she had also submitted a drug-alcohol evaluation form for consideration of treatment for her client.

Levi told Tazewell that he had 10 days to file a motion to withdraw the plea and proceed to trial.

Based on conversations with counsel, Judge Blomquist deferred the defendant’s sentencing to Feb. 26, 2023.