In the quiet evening of June 23, 2021, a grim discovery was made in a parking garage in Columbia, Maryland. Victoria Ann Santiago, a 47-year-old Black/African American female from Windsor Mill, was found unresponsive inside her vehicle. When Howard County Police responded to the scene in the 10200 block of Wincopin Circle at approximately 9:18 p.m., they found that Santiago was suffering from a gunshot wound.
She was quickly transported to Howard County General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators soon learned that Santiago had been at a restaurant with her ex-boyfriend, 38-year-old Jawon Stanford Ferguson of Baltimore, shortly before her death. The two were seen walking back to her car in the parking garage. It is there that authorities believe Ferguson shot Santiago before leaving the area. While the specific motive for the shooting remains under investigation, the evidence gathered by detectives pointed toward her ex-boyfriend as the perpetrator.
Three days after the discovery of Santiago's body, on June 26, 2021, Jawon Stanford Ferguson was arrested in Baltimore. He was subsequently charged with first- and second-degree murder, as well as a weapon violation. Following his arrest, Ferguson was held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.
