On April 15, 2024 a fire at the Highland Commons apartment complex in Aberdeen, Maryland, revealed three bodies inside a unit: 54-year-old John C. Claytor and two women later identified as Melissa L. Williams, 45, and Talaya Danetha Wiley, 48. What began as a fire investigation quickly shifted to a triple homicide inquiry.

Authorities named 35-year-old Michael Anthony Swan as a person of interest. Swan was already wanted on an outstanding warrant from a February 2024 shooting in Prince George’s County and on federal warrants for parole violations. Surveillance located Swan in an Aberdeen apartment on the evening of April 23; after a brief standoff he was taken into custody.

Swan was charged with three counts each of first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree arson, reckless endangerment, and other charges. At the time of the killings he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. Was anyone in the Highland Commons complex aware of unusual activity or persons in the weeks before April 15?