In the early morning hours of September 16, 2021, 39-year-old Dina Taylor of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was found in the street on the 12400 block of Cecily Court, having been shot multiple times. Responding officers arrived after a domestic-related shooting call around 2:20 a.m.; Taylor was unresponsive in the roadway and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Taylor had posted on social media a month earlier about her engagement and plans to marry, referring to her fiancé as kind, gentle, dedicated, and loving. Authorities say her life was cut short during an argument with that fiancé, 38-year-old Dionte Sims. After Taylor was found, Sims barricaded himself inside the home they shared for several hours and allegedly fired at two responding officers; neither officer was injured. He was taken into custody and later admitted to shooting Taylor and firing at officers.

Sims was charged with first- and second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for shooting at the officers. A Prince George’s County grand jury later returned a 19-count indictment that included enhancements for committing a crime of violence in the presence of a minor, and he was held without bond. If anyone knew Dina, her relationship, or was in the area that night, please share information with Prince George’s County authorities.