Background: News footage of the Prince George's County Courthouse (WRC). Inset (left): Reginald English (Prince George's County Police). Inset (right): Lorena Royster (Pridgen Funeral Service).
A Maryland man who murdered his own mother after a fight over her car has learned his fate in court.
Reginald English, 53, was sentenced Friday to life in prison with all but 72 years suspended. English was convicted of murdering his 72-year-old mother Lorena Royster after the two had a fight over the use of her car. According to courtroom reporting by Washington, D.C.-based NBC affiliate WRC, prosecutors asked the judge for the specific number as a way to honor the age of the woman English killed.
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According to court documents obtained by local Fox affiliate WTTG, police responded to calls for a welfare check at Royster's apartment in Bladensburg, Maryland, on April 3, 2024, at 11 p.m. They found Royster with a stab wound to the neck and pronounced her dead at the scene. Police also noted that she had a handcuff on her wrist.
Twelve hours before Royster was found, English was found by a police officer after he jumped into Cox Creek, located about 40 miles east of his mother's apartment where he also lived at the time. English, who was wearing a woman's engagement ring, told police that he was praying. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Days later, he was charged with murder.
English went on trial in July. According to WRC's courtroom reporting, prosecutors told the court that English "killed his mother over the use of a Toyota Camry." He had also reportedly argued with his sister over the title of the car while he was in jail for the murder. English was found guilty on Aug. 7.
Members of Royster's family spoke to WRC after the sentencing, including her stepdaughter Audrey Lawrence who said, "For me, 72 years is going to forever be etched in his brain. I don't care where he goes until the day he leaves this earth, and even when he's in the ground, he's probably going to remember 72."
According to court records, English has appealed his conviction.
