In the early morning hours of September 16, 2021, what should have been a time of hopeful dreams for 39-year-old Dina Taylor of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, turned into a nightmare. A Black female, she was found by Prince George's County police in the street on the 12400 block of Cecily Court, having been shot multiple times. Responding to a call about a domestic-related shooting around 2:20 a.m., officers arrived to find her unresponsive in the roadway; she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Just a month prior, Taylor had taken to social media to express her joy and excitement about her engagement, believing she had found the man of her dreams. She wrote about getting married in a beautiful mansion to a kind, gentle, dedicated, and loving man, exclaiming, 'When they say dreams come true, please believe them.' That man was her fiancé, 38-year-old Dionte Sims. The preliminary investigation suggests that her life was cut short during an argument with him.
Following the discovery of Taylor, Sims barricaded himself inside the home he shared with her for several hours. During the standoff, he allegedly fired a weapon at two of the responding officers, though neither was injured. After a tense few hours, he was taken into custody by law enforcement. He later admitted to shooting Taylor and firing at the officers.
Dionte Sims was subsequently charged with first- and second-degree murder in connection with the death of his fiancée. He also faced charges of attempted first-degree murder for shooting at the two officers. In November 2021, a Prince George's County grand jury indicted him on a 19-count indictment, which included enhancements for committing a crime of violence in the presence of a minor. He was held in the custody of the Department of Corrections on a no-bond status.
