On the morning of May 27, 2016, 41-year-old Latrina Ashburne, a teacher's aide and associate pastor, was tragically shot and killed outside her home in the Park Heights neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. As she was getting into her car, a man approached and shot her in the upper body. The initial investigation revealed that nothing was stolen from her, and she was not the intended target.
The killing was a case of mistaken identity in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated to silence a federal witness.
The intended victim was Ashburne's next-door neighbor, who was a witness in a federal health care fraud and murder case against Matthew Hightower. From jail, Hightower conspired to have the witness killed to prevent her from testifying against him. He communicated with associates through jail calls and letters to arrange the murder. Ashburne, who was of a similar age and appearance to the intended target and lived next door, was tragically mistaken for the witness on the day of the shooting.
The investigation led to the arrests of three men: Matthew Hightower, the mastermind behind the plot; Davon Carter, the shooter; and Clifton Mosley, the getaway driver. Surveillance footage and cell phone evidence placed Carter and Mosley in the area at the time of the murder.
In January 2020, a federal jury convicted Davon Carter and Clifton Mosley on charges of conspiracy, witness retaliation murder, and witness tampering murder. Both men were also found guilty of various drug offenses. Carter was later sentenced to life in prison. In June 2025, Matthew Hightower pleaded guilty to using a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime resulting in death. As part of a plea agreement, it was recommended that he be sentenced to 60 years in prison to be served consecutively with a sentence he was already serving for another murder.
