Murder Defendant has Trial Set for Top of the New Year

Thank you for reading Baltimore Witness.
Help us continue our mission into 2025 by donating to our end of year campaign.

Donate Now

A Baltimore man charged with murder had his trial postponed before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn on Dec. 12. 

Defendant Cornelius Hayes is charged with first-degree murder, use of a firearm in a felony, violent crime, and possession of a firearm with a felony conviction in connection with a crime perpetrated on Nov. 21, 2020. 

Hayes is represented by defense attorney Natalie Finegar

According to the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), Hayes was arrested on Oct 27 and charged nearly a year after the murder of Lezatte Jackson.

According to police, officers were called to a home on the 1200 block of N. Woodyear Street around 7:25 p.m. on Nov. 21, 2020, when they found Jackson, 48, who was unresponsive with a gunshot wound to her back.

Phinn set the 45-year-old defendant’s new trial date for Jan. 3, 2023 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Althea Handy