Roommate's Killing Prompts 2 Guilty Pleas In Anne Arundel County: Officials

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Two people pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder in the death of their former roommate, Anne Arundel County prosecutors said.

Officials identified the victim as Megan Tilman and the accused duo as William Eugene Rice Jr. and Christina Gail Harnish, also known as Christina Stallings.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 26 at the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in Annapolis.

Maryland is seeking the maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for each, Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said.

"Megan offered friendship, her home, and her trust to Mr. Rice and Ms. Harnish, and when the finances ran dry, they did more than violate that trust - they took her life," Leitess said in a press release. "It won't bring Megan back, but it is my hope that today's guilty pleas will bring justice to Megan's family, who have long awaited answers for this heinous crime."

Rice and Harnish were roommates with Tilman and her elderly mother in the fall of 2017. Rice and Harnish also relied on the financial support of Tilman and her mother, prosecutors said.

Officials said Tilman disappeared when she stopped providing that support.

Tilman's family stopped hearing from her, the release said. Her ex-husband reported receiving suspicious texts and seeing unusual social media posts that were different from her typical communications.

The state's attorney said Rice and Harnish had already fled to Arizona by bus at that point. Maryland court records list both suspects under the same address in Tuscon, Arizona.

Prosecutors said Tilman's remains were found in the bay in the Cedarhurst community of Shady Side in October 2017 shortly after her disappearance.

Police linked both suspects to Tilman's missing vehicle. Officials said they identified Rice as the man seen driving the vehicle to multiple ATMs around the time that Tilman went missing. The state's attorney also accused Harnish of posting social media photos of her driving the vehicle to rehome her pet before the pair fled to Arizona.

Prosecutors said the car was later found abandoned near a bus depot.

The duo was arrested in Arizona, the release said. The suspects were extradited in early 2022 back to Maryland, where they have been held without bond.

Assistant State's Attorney Glen Neubauer prosecuted the case. Judge Cathleen Vitale presided over it.

"I am extremely proud of all of the agencies involved in this case and the efforts of Assistant State's Attorney Neubauer," Leitess said. "The Annapolis Police Department and the Anne Arundel County Police Department detectives Aaron Stein and Sgt. Kelly Harding worked on this cold case over the years and collaborated with our office to prepare it for charging and ultimately prosecution. This was no easy task for any of us to build a circumstantial case against the defendants but we agreed to take on the challenge and now two killers have been held accountable."