Towson man pleads guilty to murder of his estranged wife
A Towson man pleaded guilty Feb. 16 in Harford County Circuit Court to the first-degree murder of his estranged wife in Edgewood, according to the Harford County State’s Attorney office.
Jamar Wise, 43, admitted to killing Krisha Blackwell on Dec. 20, 2022, according to the news release. His plea deal includes a sentence range of life in prison with all but 80 years suspended to life without parole.
On the day of the killing, Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a protective order violation at 5:12 p.m. at a house in the 2800 block of Majesty Lane. A verbal altercation between Wise and Blackwell led to gunfire, and police arrived within minutes of the shooting. Wise already had fled the scene in a rental car. Blackwell, 46, was found suffering from gunshot wounds in her home driveway. She was taken to a trauma center and pronounced dead the following day.
Court documents showed Wise had filed for divorce from Blackwell, and the couple was scheduled for a settlement hearing March 9, 2023. Wise also was facing harassment and stalking charges in Harford County earlier in 2022 and had a restraining order placed on him for domestic violence.
Blackwell’s 15-year-old daughter had called police and was able to identify Wise as the shooter, according to a news release. Along with the daughter’s description of the suspect, the entire incident was recorded by a neighbor with their cellphone.
Just after midnight two days later, Wise was arrested by Pennsylvania officers after being recognized at a gas station in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
Wise’s sentencing is set for May 10, when Harford County State’s Attorney Alison Healey intends to seek a sentence of life without parole.
“Nothing will bring back their mother or change the fact that lives were forever altered by the events that they witnessed on that December day,” Healey said in a statement. “But it is my hope that this resolution will bring the victim’s children some peace knowing that the person responsible for this horrific murder will spend the rest of his life in prison.”