Baltimore killer commits third murder after being paroled twice for prior slayings

A man with a decades-long record of violence has been convicted of first-degree murder in Baltimore, his third murder conviction since 1986, according to State’s Attorney Ivan Bates.

Reginald Lively was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 68-year-old John Hall III in his Northwest Baltimore apartment in 2021.

Lively, 68, had twice been released on parole for earlier murder convictions, one in 1986 and another in 2000, before this latest killing.

According to the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, Lively previously pleaded guilty in 1986 in Anne Arundel County to the second-degree murder of Eleanor Williams, serving eight years of a 20-year sentence. After his release, he pleaded guilty in 2000 in North Carolina to the second-degree murder of Willy Mae Arrington. He was sentenced to 30 years in that case and served about 12 before being paroled again.

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A cold case investigation led to the murder conviction of Reginald Lively for the brutal killing of John Hall III in a Baltimore apartment in 2021. (Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City)

“This violent offender should never have been allowed to walk free,” Bates said in a statement on Nov. 12. “Thanks to Chief Bjorklund’s relentless advocacy for Mr. Hall’s family, those days are over. No longer will repeat violent offenders serve a few years only to be released and terrorize our communities again. My office will continue to ensure they face the full weight of justice.”

For several years, Hall’s death remained unsolved. The case was revived under the direction of Cold Case Unit Chief Kurt Bjorklund, whose team conducted new investigative work that ultimately led to a jury conviction for first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon.

On the morning of May 28, 2021, around 10:25 a.m., officers responded to an apartment at 3809 Clarks Lane after reports of an unconscious and injured man. Maintenance workers had entered the unit after residents on lower floors complained of water leaking from their ceilings. Inside, they found Hall on the floor, bleeding and covered with a blanket. He was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.

An autopsy later revealed Hall had suffered at least 17 blunt-force injuries and 88 sharp-force wounds. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Investigators learned that Hall, who lived alone, had won about $1,000 at a casino the night before his death, but no comparable amount of cash was found in his apartment.

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A Baltimore Police forensics technician documents the scene where a man was fatally shot by police, on Nov. 7, 2023, in Baltimore.  (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP, File)

Attention soon turned to Lively, who lived in the same building. Surveillance video showed him entering the elevator around 6:17 a.m. on the morning of the murder and exiting about 35 minutes later carrying a plastic bag that appeared to contain a heavy, reddish-stained object. When he returned less than 15 minutes later, the bag was gone.

Phone records placed him in the building during the likely time of the killing, between 6:32 and 6:41 a.m. Detectives also discovered that Hall had previously accused Lively of trying to steal money from him. Because of severe gout, Hall often left his door unlocked in the mornings to avoid repeated trips to answer it.

Police executed a search warrant on Lively’s apartment on June 11, 2021, finding clothing that matched what he wore in the surveillance video. DNA testing later confirmed Lively’s presence inside Hall’s apartment.

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Baltimore Police investigate the site of a mass shooting in the city’s Brooklyn Homes neighborhood on July 2, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

During questioning, Lively initially denied involvement, claiming he had been asleep. When confronted with surveillance images, he admitted he was the man in the video but gave conflicting explanations, at one point claiming the bag contained a wrench taken from a vacant unit, an account investigators did not find credible.

“Clearly, this investigation needed ‘fresh eyes,‘” Bjorklund said. “Without question, the file contained significant evidence against the defendant dating from 2021, but there were more avenues to pursue, including additional DNA testing. Credit is due to the Baltimore Police Department for its continuing investigation and collaboration with SAO’s Cold Case Unit.”

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With his latest conviction, Bates’ office said Lively will spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole, ending a violent criminal career that twice saw him freed early before killing again.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to [email protected].