Bladensburg, Maryland – A 53-year-old Maryland man who brutally stabbed his elderly mother dozens of times following an argument over her vehicle has been sentenced to spend the equivalent of her lifetime behind bars.
Reginald English was sentenced Friday to life in prison with all but 72 years suspended, a punishment prosecutors requested to reflect the 72 years his mother, Lorena Royster, lived before her death. English was convicted of murder earlier this year after a jury found him responsible for killing Royster inside her Bladensburg apartment.
Deadly argument over a car
According to prosecutors, the violence stemmed from a heated dispute between English and his mother over her Toyota Camry, which English wanted to use. Court records show the disagreement escalated into a fatal attack inside Royster’s home.
Police were called to the apartment for a welfare check around 11 p.m. on April 3, 2024. Officers found Royster unresponsive with a stab wound to her neck and pronounced her dead at the scene. Investigators later determined she had been stabbed 47 times. Police also noted that one handcuff was still attached to her wrist, a detail prosecutors said underscored the brutality of the crime.
Bizarre events before the discovery
Roughly 12 hours before Royster’s body was discovered, English was encountered by police after jumping into Cox Creek, located about 40 miles east of his mother’s apartment. An officer reported finding English in the water wearing a woman’s engagement ring…