On the evening of April 23, 2023, a 17-year-old male named Elias Jakob Cieslak was found with a gunshot wound behind a shopping center on Belair Road in Baltimore County, Maryland. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. At the time of his death, Cieslak was a senior at Parkville High School.
The investigation into the teen's death revealed a planned robbery.
According to charging documents, Cieslak was allegedly set up by 18-year-old Bryson Butterfly under the guise of a marijuana transaction involving a significant sum of money. Cieslak was reportedly picked up and driven to the shopping center where two other individuals, 32-year-old David Lofton and a 17-year-old, were waiting to rob him at gunpoint. During the course of the robbery, Cieslak was shot.
Investigators utilized cell phone records, cell tower pings, and security camera footage to connect Butterfly, Lofton, and the juvenile suspect to the crime. The evidence allegedly showed communication between the suspects just before the incident and tracked their movements away from the scene. Although David Lofton reportedly admitted to his involvement in the robbery, he denied knowing who fired the fatal shot. Bryson Butterfly, a horse jockey, initially claimed to be a victim as well, stating his phone had been stolen, but records indicated his phone was in use after the murder.
All three suspects, Bryson Butterfly, David Lofton, and the 17-year-old, were eventually apprehended. Butterfly was located and arrested in West Virginia by U.S. Marshals and was subsequently extradited to Baltimore County. All three individuals face charges of first-degree murder, armed robbery, and the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime.
