A Prince George's Man Has Been Found Guilty Of Murder After Cutting Off Son's Mom's Hands

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A 51-year-old Riverdale man has been found guilty in the first-degree murder of Ashley Solano, the mother of his child.

A Prince George's County jury deliberated for more than two weeks in the trial of Stephen Nurse, who faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced July 19.

On May 30, 2016, Prince George’s County police officers arrived at a home in Hyattsville for a welfare check. Officers discovered Solano dead in an apartment laundry room, suffering significant blunt force trauma to her head. Both of her hands had been cut off.

After interviewing multiple witnesses, police said that Nurse, who is the father of Solano’s son, was with the victim the night before she was found dead. Investigators named Nurse as a suspect and DNA evidence revealed that both the defendant and the victim’s blood and brain matter were on the clothing he hid.

Nurse also admitted that he threw away the victim's hands in a nearby Dumpster, but they were never found, according to court documents.

“A person who can commit a crime as heinous as this has no regard for human life and does not belong in our community. The defendant’s level of cruelty proves that he should not be in our community,” said State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “I hope that this verdict has added some measure of justice and healing to Ms. Solano’s family. This was a long and tough case and I want to commend the attorneys on this case for their dedication and hard work on securing justice for this family.”