In the quiet suburban neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland, the life of 23-year-old Marc Taylor St Aubin was violently cut short on the night of March 3, 2014. What began as a seemingly ordinary evening ended in a brutal homicide that would later be described as unusually grisly. St Aubin was a renter at a home on Laughlin Lane, a residence that would become the scene of a deadly home invasion.
That night, a group of armed men, their faces obscured, forced their way into the house.
The intruders, armed with baseball bats and knives, were intent on stealing drugs, a safe, and guns. A struggle broke out, and in the chaos that followed, gunshots rang out. While some occupants of the house hid, St Aubin, who was known to carry a handgun, confronted the assailants. He managed to fire his weapon, hitting one of the intruders, before he was overcome.
When police responded to a call for a shooting at approximately 10:30 p.m., they discovered Marc St Aubin's body in the driveway of the home. An autopsy would later reveal that he had suffered from blunt force injuries and a stab wound, and the medical examiner officially ruled his death a homicide. A holster was found on St Aubin's body, though the handgun it once held was missing. As the investigation began, other witnesses at the scene started to remove items from the house, including guns, a safe, and suspected marijuana.
Shortly after the discovery of St Aubin's body, a local hospital reported treating a man with gunshot wounds. This man was identified as 26-year-old Tavon Miles of Gaithersburg. The bullet recovered from Miles' clothing was found to be the same caliber as those found at the crime scene and was determined to have been fired from the same gun, a weapon registered to St Aubin. This crucial piece of evidence linked Miles directly to the home invasion and the murder of Marc St Aubin.
Tavon Miles was subsequently arrested and charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and armed robbery. In a courtroom packed with St Aubin's grieving family and friends, Miles maintained his innocence, despite the evidence against him. He was ultimately convicted for his role in the brutal slaying. A judge sentenced him to life in prison for the murder, with an additional sentence for the armed robbery and burglary. While one perpetrator was brought to justice, it was acknowledged in court that several other individuals involved in the death of Marc Taylor St Aubin have yet to be held accountable.
