On the evening of December 5, 2018, 33-year-old Steven Bernard Wilson, a sales and marketing representative, was working alone inside a model home in the Shipley's Homestead community in Hanover, Maryland. It was there that he was found by authorities who were responding to a 911 call around 5 p.m. Wilson was discovered suffering from trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy later confirmed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound.
The evidence at the scene immediately suggested that his death was a homicide.
The investigation into the death of the loving husband and father of two quickly launched, with law enforcement conducting extensive searches of the model home and the surrounding neighborhood. Investigators utilized both air and K-9 units to identify and collect multiple pieces of evidence. The community was on edge as police worked to determine whether the attack was random or if Wilson had been specifically targeted.
A significant breakthrough in the case came swiftly. Within 31 hours of the discovery of Wilson's body, an arrest was made. Dillon Nicholas Augustyniak, an 18-year-old who lived in a wooded area within walking distance of the model home, was taken into custody in Baltimore City. The arrest was aided by a tip from the public. Investigators determined that Augustyniak had fatally shot Wilson during a robbery, stealing his cell phone and laptop. Surveillance footage from the model home reportedly captured the suspect.
Augustyniak was charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, theft, and the use of a firearm in a violent crime. Evidence against him included the recovery of a firearm from his home consistent with the one used in the murder, as well as the victim's stolen cell phone. Augustyniak had sold the phone to a neighbor, whose fiancée recognized it from news reports and alerted the authorities. Further investigation revealed that shortly after the murder, Wilson's phone had been used to log into Augustyniak's Snapchat account and to search for a song titled 'Murder on My Mind.' In February 2020, Dillion Augustyniak was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Steven Wilson.
