Guard arrested in connection with fatal shooting in Towson

Baltimore County Police charged a security guard Sunday with fatally shooting his child’s mother.

Officers responded to the 6600 block of Collinsdale Road in Towson around 5:25 a.m. Saturday after someone heard shots and a woman screaming, according to charging documents.

Asia Lilly, 23, was found with a fatal gunshot wound, lying next to a running car that had crashed near an apartment complex, according to police. Several spent 9mm shell casings were found on the Toyota Corolla’s dashboard and on the driver’s side, police said.

After noticing the patio door open at a nearby apartment, officers found a handgun magazine, gun cleaning brushes and an unfired handgun cartridge scattered on the floor of the hallway inside, according to charging documents.

Officers also located a holster that they say belongs to 24-year-old Cameron Murel on the bedroom nightstand and a partially empty box of 9mm ammunition, found in a book bag with Murel’s passport, charging documents say.

Casing found at the scene were the same caliber and brand as the ones found in Lilly’s home, according to charging documents.

Baltimore County Police said Murel is an employed security guard with a state-registered Glock 9mm handgun who was in a relationship with Lilly and has a child with her.

Murel missed work after the shooting, telling his supervisor that his child was sick, according to charging documents. However, a family member was taking care of the child.

Officers later arrested Murel at his mother’s home in Dundalk, and she revealed the location of a gun during the arrest, charging documents say.

Murel has been charged with first-degree murder. He is currently being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center without bond, according to online court records. He does not have an attorney listed yet.

Murel was reported for a domestic incident in Howard County in January, charging documents say. According to online court records, he’d had child custody disputes with Lilly, as well as a temporary peace order placed on him in Anne Arundel County in 2022.

In response to killings by armed security guards, a new law that goes into effect this June is set to bolster the state’s standards and oversight of private security. All security guards will need to be licensed and trained in use of force.