HBO’s ‘Charm City Kings’ Actress Guilty of Manslaughter in Retrial for Girlfriend’s Stabbing

By Andrew Michaels - January 25, 2024
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | stabbing | Suspects | Victims |

Former HBO actress Lakeyria Doughty was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter on Jan. 24 for the fatal stabbing of her girlfriend, 33-year-old Tiffany Wilson, three years ago.

The 29-year-old defendant, who starred in HBO’s “Charm City Kings,” stood trial for Wilson’s murder, which concluded on Jan. 23 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy. This verdict comes after Doughty’s mistrial in 2022 when the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

At Doughty’s retrial, the prosecutors told jurors it was Wilson’s decision to end her relationship with the defendant, growing tired of “the cheating and the lies.” What began as a disagreement in person on Dec. 31, 2020, transitioned to dozens of text messages between the two women at which time Wilson demanded the defendant return her key.

The prosecution said Doughty went to return Wilson’s key at the victim’s mother’s home on the 1200 block of North Stricker Street in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2021.

“She wanted to confront Tiffany Wilson face-to-face,” one of the prosecutors said in her closing argument Tuesday afternoon. “She knew Tiffany Wilson was in the house.”

The defendant testified she found Wilson’s body on the kitchen floor and called 911—a call that was played before the jury. Doughty’s story continued to change over the course of the Baltimore Police Department’s (BPD) investigation, the prosector explained, as the defendant later said she saw Wilson stab herself with the knife during their argument.

“Lakeyria Doughty likes to be in control,” the prosecutor said. “She wanted to be in control of Tiffany Wilson. …What Lakeyria Doughty really wants to be in control of is this narrative.”

Although Doughty’s DNA was not recovered from the murder weapon, the prosecutor said the amount of Wilson’s blood on the knife masked any other DNA evidence.

Andrea Jaskulsky, Doughty’s defense counsel, told the jury she understood the physical and emotional toll the trial had on both the defendant and victim’s families. Yet, what the prosecution did not tell the jury was that Wilson was intoxicated with a 0.23 blood-alcohol level—almost three times the legal limit.

The prosecution also indicated there was some kind of physical altercation, citing the false lashes, jewelry and scuff marks that were found on the stairs. Jaskulsky argued Wilson’s level of intoxication could easily explain this.

Additionally, some of the defendant’s skin was found under Wilson’s nails.

“Why would [Wilson] hold [Doughty] so close if [Doughty] had a knife?” Jaskulsky asked.

The defense attorney told the jury she expected they would not have a difficult time acquitting Doughty of first and second-degree murder, but would be at odds over the charge of manslaughter.