In a tragic end to a frantic manhunt, seven-year-old Giana Vicosa was found dead on November 18, 2021, in Smithsburg, Maryland, the victim of a horrific murder-suicide. The devastating discovery brought a grim conclusion to a multi-day crime spree that stretched across state lines and involved the abduction of Giana and her younger sister, six-year-old Aaminah.
The events began to unfold days earlier when the girls' father, Robert Vicosa, a 41-year-old former Baltimore County police
officer, allegedly assaulted his estranged wife at his home in York, Pennsylvania, and fled with their two daughters. This act triggered a wide-ranging search for Vicosa and the children. He was not alone in his flight; authorities identified Tia Bynum, a 35-year-old suspended Baltimore County police sergeant, as his accomplice. The pair engaged in a series of criminal acts, including an armed carjacking in Cockeysville, Maryland, as they attempted to evade law enforcement.
The desperate search came to a violent end on a Thursday afternoon when Pennsylvania State Police spotted a vehicle matching the description of the one used by the suspects. A pursuit began, crossing into Maryland, where the vehicle eventually crashed into a fence line off Ringgold Pike in Smithsburg. As police surrounded the SUV, they were unable to make contact with the occupants. A thick layer of smoke inside the vehicle obscured the view of what was happening within.
Upon making entry into the vehicle, police made a harrowing discovery. Inside, they found the bodies of Robert Vicosa, Tia Bynum, and his two young daughters, Giana and Aaminah. All four had sustained apparent gunshot wounds. Vicosa, Bynum, and one of the children were pronounced dead at the scene. The other child was rushed to a nearby hospital but was also pronounced dead. Investigators believe the incident was a murder-suicide. An assault rifle and other firearms were recovered from the vehicle.
