A Frederick, Maryland, man who beat another man with a BBQ grill brush, his fists and a rock in 2019, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and received a sentence of life in prison with all but 50 years suspended Monday.
Three years to the day when 24-year-old Devon Wallace’s body was found in a field in West Virginia, Ryan Bretzfelder took responsibility for the Virginia man’s death, claiming he “snapped.”
Bretzfelder, 46, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in Wallace’s 2019 killing, according to a news release from the state’s attorney’s office. Circuit Court Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sentenced him Monday.
On May 1, 2019, Wallace and a woman he was dating, Samantha Guthrie, and her toddler, visited her friend, Bretzfelder, at his home on Wilcox Court, according to the state’s attorney.
Bretzfelder claimed that Wallace and Guthrie were fighting and he got involved when Wallace choked her.
Bretzfelder admitted that he beat Wallace with the grill brush, causing Wallace to fall off the home’s deck.
When Wallace tried to get up, Bretzfelder would punch and kick him down, according to charging documents.
He then hit Wallace’s head with a large rock multiple times.
An autopsy found Wallace died of multiple skull fractures.
That night, police say Bretzfelder and Guthrie, who had known each other for years, drove to West Virginia to dispose of Wallace’s body.
Police said Wallace’s remains were found close to the 4300 block of Summit Point Road near Charles Town on May 2, 2019.
Police linked Bretzfelder to the murder when they traced Wallace’s Wi-Fi signal to his house.
Guthrie pleaded guilty to being an accessory to first-degree murder.
In addition to his 50 years in prison, Bretzfelder’s plea agreement says he’ll serve five years of supervised probation after the prison time. During that probation, he’ll be subject to random drug and alcohol testing, mental health evaluations and GPS monitoring. He won’t be allowed to contact the victim’s family, or go to their residences of workplaces.
Wallace’s mother, the mother of his child and his cousin all addressed the court at the sentencing.
His mother reached out to WTOP and said she was satisfied with the sentencing.
“It has been three years since this brutal murder occurred; three long years for the family of Devon Wallace to endure to get to this day,” said State’s Attorney for Frederick County J. Charles Smith, in a news release. “We are pleased that they are pleased with this substantial sentence. We wanted to provide as much certainty and cloture as possible for the family. We thank them for their patience and grace throughout this process.”
