Roommate's Killing Lands MD Man, Woman 40 Years In Prison

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A man and woman who pleaded guilty earlier this year to killing their roommate and dumping her body in the bay have each been sentenced to 40 years in prison, according to the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office.

William Eugene Rice Jr. and Christina Gail Harnish, also known as Christina Stallings, were sentenced in Anne Arundel County court Friday. The pair pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January, more than five years after Megan Tilman's death.

At the sentencing hearing, an Anne Arundel County judge called the pair's actions "senseless, thoughtless and heinous," according to prosecutors.

"Megan was a vulnerable young woman who was killed by two people she trusted who worked their way into her life and took advantage of her financially," State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a statement. "Her family long-awaited answers for this crime, and I hope today's sentence brings a sense of closure and relief from the nightmare of an unsolved murder of a beloved daughter and mother."

According to prosecutors, 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.

When Tilman stopped providing that support, she disappeared, prosecutors said.

Tilman's family also stopped hearing from her, prosecutors said. Her ex-husband reported receiving suspicious texts and seeing unusual social media posts different from her regular communications.

By that point, prosecutors said both Rice and Harnish had fled to Arizona by bus. In October 2018, shortly after her disappearance, Tilman's remains were found in the bay in Shady Side's Cedarhurst community.

Police linked both suspects to Tilman's missing vehicle, prosecutors said. Officials said they identified Rice as the man seen driving the car 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.