MD Woman Sentenced For Role In Strangulation Death Of Teenage Brother

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Prince George’s County woman was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for her role in the death of her 17-year-old brother in Silver Spring, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Leaundra Matthews, 25, of Accokeek was sentenced by a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge to 30 years in prison, with five years suspended, and five years of supervised probation upon release.

Matthews’s co-defendant Daniel Howard, 27, has a trial scheduled for July.

Matthews’ brother, Christian Matthews, was fatally strangled by the defendant’s boyfriend, Tysean Lipford, 26, and Howard while he was sleeping in the Matthews’ Silver Spring home on March 21, 2017, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.

Last August, a jury found Matthews guilty of second-degree murder for the death of Christian Matthews.

In January 2019, Lipford was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced in June 2019 to 30 years in prison, which he is currently serving, the State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Leaundra Matthews’ twin sister, Lemae Matthews, was in the home at the time of the death, according to charging documents. Lemae Matthews pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to murder in October 2021 and will be sentenced after Howard’s trial, facing up to 10 years in prison, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.

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