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Baltimore resident Matthew Hightower, 41, is facing life in prison after being charged for his role in the murder of Latrina Ashburne in May 2016 before she was able to testify against him in a different case.
According to the indictment, Hightower conspired to, and did kill Ashburne with the intent to retaliate against her for providing tips to investigators relating to the commission of a federal crime.
Prosecutors say that the murder-for-hire scheme also would have prevented Ashburne from testifying in court against him.
Baltimore Police Department records show that Ashburne was murdered in the early morning of May 27, 2016, as she got into her car outside her home in the Cylburn neighborhood of Baltimore.
The police reported that an unknown man approached and shot her in the upper body as she tried to run. She later died from her injuries.
Hightower was charged with:
- Two counts of conspiracy to murder a witness;
- Witness retaliation murder;
- Witness tampering murder;
- Murder for hire conspiracy.
He is currently being detained. If convicted, Hightower faces life in prison on each of the charges.
Others involved in the scheme have already been sentenced to life for their roles in the murder-for-hire.
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