In the early morning hours of January 23, 2021, the life of 17-year-old Alissa Traylor was tragically cut short in a violent intrusion. A female from Aberdeen, she was inside a residence in the 600 block of North Lakewood Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland, when a gunman forced his way in around 3:30 a.m. and opened fire. Traylor, who was just two days shy of her 18th birthday, was asleep on the living room floor along with two brothers when the shooting began.
She was struck in the back, a wound that proved fatal, severing her spine. The two young men with her were also injured in the attack but survived.
The investigation into the triple shooting swiftly pointed to a suspect: 41-year-old Lenny Epps. Authorities learned that the incident may have stemmed from a dispute a couple of days prior, involving Epps and an argument with his girlfriend who lived in the same apartment building as the victims. The motive appeared to be Epps intending to 'settle a score' with one of the men who he believed was showing interest in his girlfriend. On February 7, 2021, Epps was located and arrested. A search of his girlfriend's apartment uncovered an identification card and a debit card belonging to him. Further strengthening the case, one of the surviving victims identified Epps from a photo array as the man who shot him and Alissa.
Lenny Epps was charged with a multitude of offenses, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and home invasion. His legal proceedings were complex, initially resulting in a mistrial in February 2023 after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. However, a retrial was scheduled, and in May 2023, a jury found Epps guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and firearm charges. Following his conviction, he faced the possibility of two life sentences plus an additional 100 years in prison. The prosecutor in the case argued that there was a 'mountain of evidence' against Epps, ultimately leading to his conviction for the senseless killing of Alissa Traylor and the wounding of the two other victims.
