Husband Charged with Wife's Murder

Police say he made up a wild story of carjacking to cover his tracks.

CRUMPTON, Md. -- Late Friday night police charged a St. Mary's County man with the murder a wife, after finding that his bizarre story of carjacking didn't add up.

28-year-old Ryan Holness is charged with first degree murder.

Holness told police he and his wife Serika were carjacked early Friday as they drove on the New Jersey Turnpike on their way home from Brooklyn, where they own another home, Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley said.

He told officers the man forced them to drive to the Crumpton area in Kent County, where he bound the man's hands and feet on Route 290, four miles north of Route 301, Shipley said.

He claimed Serika tried to escape , but the carjacker caught and stabbed her to death in a rural area where homes are at least a quarter-mile apart, Shipley said.

Holness said the man armed with a knife and gun drove away at about 1 a.m. in the couple's car.  He claimed it took him several hours to free himself from being bound, and that's why it took him four more hours to go for help. 

Late Friday night police cited "significant inconsistencies" in Holness' story. 

 The couple's 2007 blue Honda Accord is still missing. 

The New York City Police Department, New Jersey State Police and Kent County Sheriff's Office are also investigating, Shipley said.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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