A Baltimore City jury found Tyler Liggins, 30, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and first-degree assault on Nov. 4 in connection with the July 19, 2025, death of Travon Booth, 43.
The verdict came after several days of testimony before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong, during which prosecutors detailed two violent altercations that allegedly left Booth unconscious before he was placed inside his vehicle and later discovered following a crash on I-83.
According to charging documents, the incident began at an apartment building on the 1100 block of West Northern Parkway, where Booth became involved in an argument with Liggins’ foster brother and co-defendant, David Whitfield, 29.
Investigators alleged that Liggins and Whitfield repeatedly punched, struck, and stomped Booth during two separate altercations, leaving him unconscious and bleeding from his nose and mouth.
Surveillance footage presented during the trial appeared to show two individuals carrying what investigators believed to be Booth’s body and placing it in the backseat of his vehicle around 6:38 a.m. Minutes later, the vehicle overturned multiple times on northbound I-83 near the Ruxton Road exit, ejecting Booth onto the roadway.
An eyewitness testified that the vehicle sped past his family before crashing on the rain-slicked highway. The witness described seeing the driver limp away from the wreckage while Booth lay face down in the roadway, apparently unconscious and breathing irregularly.
The medical examiner determined that Booth died from multiple blunt force injuries, although testimony raised questions about whether his death occurred before or after the crash.
During the trial, Liggins testified in his own defense, claiming that Booth had threatened to stab Whitfield and later entered Liggins’ apartment without permission. He maintained that the altercations were acts of self-defense and denied knowing Whitfield had driven away with Booth inside the vehicle.
However, prosecution challenged several inconsistencies between Liggins’ courtroom testimony and his earlier statements given to detectives. Liggins also acknowledged cleaning blood from his apartment following the altercations.
During closing arguments on Nov. 2, the prosecution emphasized surveillance footage and blood evidence, arguing that Booth was concealed inside the vehicle as part of a kidnapping.
Defense attorney Jason Miles argued Liggins had acted to protect himself and Whitfield and that moving Booth into his own vehicle did not constitute kidnapping. Miles also questioned whether Booth’s fatal injuries resulted from the physical altercations or the subsequent crash.
Following deliberations that began Nov. 2, Jurors returned a guilty verdict on all four counts on Nov. 4.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2027, at 11 a.m. before Judge Hong.
Whitfield, who is charged separately in connection with Booth’s death, is scheduled to stand trial on Nov. 30.
