ANNAPOLIS — An Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge has found a 41-year-old Severn woman guilty of second-degree child abuse for an October 2025 attack on a minor that prosecutors said included strangulation.
Tekecia Brown-Murdock was convicted Friday, Nov. 6, of second-degree child abuse, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office announced. The verdict came after a court trial, meaning Judge Richard Trunnell, not a jury, decided the case.
She has not been sentenced. Trunnell set sentencing for Jan. 8, prosecutors said.
What prosecutors said happened
Anne Arundel County police were sent to a home in Severn on Oct. 2, 2025, for a reported disturbance. According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, officers learned that Brown-Murdock had accused a minor of taking her anointing oil from the kitchen. Prosecutors said she slapped the child, threw the child to the ground and then grabbed the child around the throat.
The office did not release the child’s age or describe the relationship between the two. The Chronicle is not publishing details that could identify the child.
State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess credited the responding officer, Robert Price of the Anne Arundel County Police Department, with recognizing physical evidence at the scene. She praised his “sharp eye” in noticing scratches, bruising and small purple dots on the child’s neck, which she described as signs of strangulation.
Price led the investigation. Assistant State’s Attorney Anastasia Prigge, who leads a trial team in the office’s Special Victims Unit, prosecuted the case.
The charges and possible penalties
Under Maryland law, second-degree child abuse applies when a parent, household or family member, or another person responsible for supervising a minor causes physical injury through cruel or inhumane treatment or a malicious act. It is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The other two counts are misdemeanors with their own maximums:
- Second-degree assault: up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500
- Reckless endangerment: up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000
Those figures are ceilings, not predictions. Judges in Maryland weigh state sentencing guidelines, a defendant’s record and the facts of the case, and counts that arise from the same act are often merged at sentencing rather than stacked. Prosecutors did not say what sentence they will request.
The announcement also did not say whether Brown-Murdock is being held ahead of sentencing or name her attorney.
Anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected in Maryland can report it to the local department of social services or to police. In an emergency, call 911.
