TROOPERS SEARCHING FOR EASTERN SHORE MURDER SUSPECT

(Crumpton, MD) – Maryland State Police are searching for a suspect believed to have carjacked a Maryland husband and wife along the New Jersey Turnpike early this morning before forcing them to drive to a remote area in Kent County where he murdered the wife.

The identity of the deceased victim and her husband cannot be released at this time. Family members have not yet been notified. The deceased victim is believed to be in her twenties.

Shortly before 6:00 a.m. today, Maryland State Police and Kent County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a 911 call from a home in the 10000-block of Crumpton Road (Rt. 290), Crumpton, Md. Troopers and deputies who responded met with the male victim who said a male suspect who had carjacked them overnight and forced them to drive to this location had assaulted his wife about one-quarter mile from the house.

Troopers and deputies searched the area along Rt. 290 south of the home and found the body of the female victim lying in a field on the southbound side of Rt. 290. EMS units were called and the victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The husband was transported to Kent/Queen Anne’s Hospital by ambulance. He was treated and released for what appears to be a knife wound on his arm and other smaller cuts. He may also have an internal injury.

Kent County Sheriff John Price requested that the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit respond and conduct the investigation. The Homicide Unit is being assisted by investigators from the Kent Bureau of Investigation.

The husband told investigators that he and his wife were traveling from Brooklyn, New York last night to their home in Lexington Park, Md. They left New York sometime after 9:00 p.m., driving their 2007 blue Honda Accord, with VA registration, 876718.

The husband said they stopped along the New Jersey Turnpike to get gas. While there, he said they were carjacked by a man with a gun who forced them into the car and made the husband drive. The race of the suspect is unknown. The husband said the man wore a mask, gloves and a black hooded sweatshirt.

The husband said he was directed to drive to the location along Rt. 290, which is about four miles north of Rt. 301 in the rural area of Crumpton. The husband said that at about 1:30 a.m. today, the suspect forced them out of the car. He said the suspect assaulted him and bound his hands and feet together with duct tape.

The husband said after he was bound, his wife tried to flee, but was run down by the suspect and assaulted. The husband, lying in a field along the road, worked throughout the early morning hours to free himself from the duct tape.

When he was able to free himself, the husband said he tried to flag down passing motorists, but no one stopped. He said he walked to the house about one-quarter mile away and asked the resident to call 911 shortly before 6:00 a.m. today.

Maryland State Police, Kent County deputies, Maryland Natural Resources Police, and allied law enforcement are continuing to search the area. Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division processed the scene for evidence.

The victim’s body has been transported to the Office of the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy. A cause and manner of death has not been identified at this time. The victim had sustained what appeared to be knife wounds to the upper body.

A lookout for the victims’ vehicle was immediately broadcast and sent to law enforcement nationally. State Police are working with police from NYPD, New Jersey State Police, and state and county police in Southern Maryland on this continuing investigation.

Anyone who may have been traveling along Rt. 290 between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. today is urged to contact Maryland State Police at the Centreville Barracks at 410-758-1101. Callers may remain confidential.

UPDATE:

KENT COUNTY MURDER VICTIM AND HUSBAND IDENTIFIED

(Crumpton, MD) – After appropriate family notifications were made, Maryland State Police are now able to release the identity of the woman who was found murdered along a road in Kent County after she and her husband were carjacked in New Jersey overnight.

The deceased victim is identified as Serika Dunkley Holness, 26, of the 48000-block of Spinnaker Circle, Lexington Park, Md. The victim sustained what appear to be stab wounds to her upper body. An autopsy will be conducted in Baltimore.

The husband of the deceased is identified as Ryan D. Holness, 28, of the same address. He sustained what appears to be a stab wound to the arm and may have a fractured rib according to hospital officials at the Kent/Queen Anne’s Hospital where he was treated and released.

The victims’ car, a blue 2007 Honda Accord four-door, has not been located. It is bearing either Virginia registration number 876-718, or KDZ-1408. The vehicle was leased by Ryan Holness.

Police believe the rest area along the New Jersey Turnpike where the couple was carjacked is the Molly Pitcher Service Area, in Cranberry New Jersey. The service area is on the southbound side of the turnpike, between exits 8A and 8.
No further information regarding a description of the suspect has been developed. Ryan Holness said when he got back into his car at the rest area, the suspect was in the back seat of his car with a gun. He described the suspect as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a ski mask, and gloves.

State Police investigators have learned Ryan Holness is currently a member of the United States Navy, assigned to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County. He and his wife have a home in Lexington Park, Md., and travel to New York to visit relatives, as they were doing before they left for Maryland last evening. The couple has been married since 2003. The couple has children, but they were not involved in this incident and are safe with other relatives.