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A man was sentenced Friday to life without parole in the killing of a teacher from Greenbelt, Maryland, who went missing in July 2023.
Harold Landon III, 35, was convicted in June of first-degree murder in the death of Mariame Toure Sylla, 59, after prosecutors shared testimony that included graphic photos of Sylla’s remains, which were decapitated at the collar, with extremities amputated at both knees and shoulders.
“Ms. Sylla was an educator, a trusted member of our community, a teacher who dedicated her life to shaping young minds and inspiring students,” State’s Attorney Tara Jackson said Friday outside court. “She was a person, a human being, and Mr. Landon took her life, but today he received a sentence of life without parole for committing the heinous acts against Ms. Sylla.”
Sylla was last seen going for one of her regular walks through Schrom Hills Park on July 29, 2023. The Greenbelt community came together to search for the beloved third grade teacher, holding a vigil and passing out flyers to spread the word.
The case shifted to a murder investigation on Aug. 1, 2023, when police were tipped off about human remains near a pond in Clinton.
Traces of Sylla’s blood were consistent with those found on the remains.
Landon’s lawyer, Richard Rydelek, blamed his actions on substance abuse issues and a childhood full of violence. He argued Landon was using drugs at the time of the killing and doesn’t remember everything.
But lead prosecutor Jonathon Church argued the murder was planned out and played recordings of phone calls Landon made from jail where he discussed trying to cover up the crimes. Those conversations included discussing the need to destroy his phone and asking relatives to help him conceal evidence.
He also discussed letting the “savage” out before being jailed.
“This act was not caused by some type of rage based on substance abuse,” said Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy following the sentencing. “It was premeditated. It was calculated before, during and after this heinous, horrific incident that really rocked our community to its core.”
Landon killed Sylla and dismembered her body. Law enforcement located her torso but has yet to find her head, as well as portions of her neck, arms and legs.
Church said it would take precision and force to use saws to dismember Sylla. He noted Landon’s past criminal record of strangulation and child abuse, and insinuated his past strangulation charge meant he knew where to cut if he wanted to hide that evidence.
Judge Carol Coderre ultimately sided with Church’s argument.
Coderre said it was difficult for the court to find credibility to the defense’s claims that what happened was because of substance abuse.
She cited the planning and forethought needed to cut, bag and separate body parts.
Coderre said Landon disposed of the woman like household garbage, “She was more than that.”
“You, sir, are someone who should never have to be a threat to our community again,” Coderre said.
Questions remain after sentencing
Church credited a man who saw something unusual and snapped a photo in Clinton, which investigators later determined showed Landon dumping Sylla’s torso at a pond.
Landon’s phone records also linked him to the park at the same time Sylla was abducted. At the time Landon was charged with murder in Sylla’s killing, he was already in police custody for an unrelated domestic violence charge.
Investigators have said there’s no evidence Landon and Sylla had known each other. His motive in the killing remains unclear.
“He can’t tell us why Ms. Sylla, because we don’t believe they knew each other at all. They were perfect strangers, which is very scary,” Braveboy said.
Several members of Sylla’s family argued her killer should be sentenced to life without parole.
Her son, Mohamed Aziz Sylla-Djim, said in a statement to the court his mother was an older, foreign looking woman who Landon attacked because she was weak.
Sylla-Djim called Landon a coward who cut his mother into pieces like she was an animal.
“The sentence today really illustrated that the judge was clear that this wasn’t something that he did out of some type of PCP rage,” Braveboy said. “But he did this because he wanted to, and then he tried to cover it up.”
Investigators have said they haven’t given up on finding the rest of Sylla’s remains.
Remembering ‘Madame Sylla’
Braveboy described Sylla as a teacher, mother and devout member of the Muslim community.
“She would walk to get her exercise, and she would pray at her mosque,” Braveboy said. “When she didn’t come to her mosque for evening prayer, she was missed. That’s why the investigation started the night that she went missing.”
The teacher was known as “Madame Sylla” by her students at the Dora Kennedy French Immersion School.
Braveboy said she’s met some of Sylla’s students and their parents.
“They remember her like she’s a family member because of the impact that she had on their child’s life during whatever period of time that they were in her classroom,” Braveboy said.
WTOP’s Gaby Arancibia contributed to this report.
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