Man Pleads Guilty to Beating Victim to Death in 2023

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A Baltimore man accused of beating a victim to death in May 2023 pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Troy K. Hill on July 8.

Mark Custis, 60, was initially charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter for allegedly beating 55-year-old Delroy Scott in the head and leaving him bleeding on the 1400 block of E. Preston Street. The attack occurred on May 1, 2023.

For his role in Scott’s death, Custis faces 40 years behind bars, suspending all but 15, including credit for the 684 days served since his arrest. Upon release, he faces three years of supervised probation.

Prior to the attack, area surveillance cameras captured Custis’ wife at the time engaging in a verbal dispute with Scott. Scott allegedly called her a b*tch multiple times, causing Custis to grow angry and punch Scott in the face. After Scott fell backwards and hit the sidewalk, Custis was seen grabbing Scott’s collar, lifting him up and continuing to repeatedly punch his head against the sidewalk.

Scott was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment. Though he continued to receive treatment from multiple hospices and care facilities, he never fully recovered from the traumatic brain injury he sustained during the incident. He was pronounced deceased on Oct. 8, 2024. The following day, his cause of death was ruled a homicide due to complications from head trauma.

Defense attorney Roland Harris claimed Custis felt immense guilt following Scott’s death, as the two knew each other since childhood and grew up in the same neighborhood.

“He knows a lot of people that Mr. Scott was around,” Harris said. “He wasn’t a bad guy – they knew each other.”

He added that Custis’ long history of drinking led him to develop “wet brain,” or Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, a disorder often linked to chronic alcohol abuse that causes cognitive and neurological issues. Symptoms can include loss of muscle coordination and memory, hallucinations, agitation, and vision issues.

At some point, Custis sought treatment for his condition and checked himself into the Johns Hopkins Broadway Center for Addiction. There, a case worker alerted him to a warrant seeking his arrest. Custis subsequently turned himself into the Central District police station and confessed to his role in Scott’s death.

“He took responsibility,” Harris said.

The mother of Scott’s children spoke briefly about her family’s struggles adjusting to life without Scott.

“To not have him really crushed my youngest son,” she told the court.

Custis gave his own brief statement, offering condolences to Scott’s family.

Parties are expected to reconvene on the afternoon of Dec. 18 for a restitution hearing via Zoom.