UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A Maryland man will be spending the rest of his life in prison for the 2015 murder of his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his daughter.
Maurice Wigfall offered no apology and no remorse in a Prince George’s County courtroom Thursday before the judge issued his sentence.
Wigfall broke up with his ex-girlfriend, Latiqua Cherry, in 2015 and had become jealous that she was moving on. In February 2015, he fraudulently purchased a life insurance policy worth $50,000 with the intent of killing Cherry.
The next month, he got insurance policies on his own life and for the life of his young daughter as part of what was described as a cover story.
In May 2015, while he had physical custody of their daughter, he broke into Cherry’s Oxon Hill apartment, stabbed her nine times, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire. At the time, Cherry had a protective order against Wigfall for him to stay away.
Judge William Pearson told Wigfal, after offering the defendant a chance to speak before the court, that he had no doubt that Wigfall was guilty of his crimes, calling it one of the most calculated and heinous acts he had ever seen in his 19-year career.
“To say I am disturbed is one of my greatest understatements,” Pearson said in the courtroom.
He then sentenced Wigfall to life plus 50 consecutive years without the possibility of parole.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks was satisfied with the sentence, saying a person like him should never be allowed to re-enter the community.
“A person who is capable of killing the mother of their child, burning her alive, trying to profit from her death, he is ruthless,” Alsobrooks stated outside of the courthouse.
“I’m not surprised that a person who is capable of committing a crime like this crime is not remorseful.”
