CLEVELAND — Opening statements were heard Monday in the trial for Terrell Silver, who is accused of shooting and killing four people inside a Cleveland home in September 2019. Those statements included prosecutors revealing new information on the investigation that led law enforcement to Silver.
Prosecutors described a difficult crime scene that left investigators with few answers. But in December 2019 -- a few months after the shooting -- prosecutors said Silver was arrested for an unrelated crime. They said he told his cellmate he had recently killed four people, including a pregnant woman. That cellmate then took that information to police.
But prosecutors say investigators were unable to link Silver to the crime and the case went cold. Then in 2023, new technology helped them connect Silver to the scene and the shooting that killed four people, including an 18-year-old woman who was just over five months pregnant.
The defense team painted a picture that the house where the victims were killed was a known drug house, known to police, adding that many people had it out for one of the victims, Christopher Monroe.
CASE DETAILS
At some point between Sept. 7 and Sept. 21, 2019, Silver is alleged to have approached four victims, including two females (ages 18 and 19) and two males (ages 20 and 23) inside a residence near East 144th Street and Kinsman Road in Cleveland where they were staying at the time. It is alleged that Silver fatally shot all four victims multiple times as they were lying down on two mattresses on the floor before fleeing the scene, and officials believe their corpses had been inside for roughly two weeks before being found.
The 18-year-old female victim, identified as Euclid native Jazmyne Lawson, was 5 1/2 months pregnant at the time of her murder. The remaining three victims were as follows:
- 23-year-old Christopher Monroe, of Cleveland
- 20-year-old Dejuan Damar Willis, of Twinsburg
- 19-year-old Aiyanna Quitman, of Euclid
It is believed that Silver knew at least one of the victims and entered the residence with the intent to kill.
Court records show Silver has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2006, including prior convictions for aggravated robbery and weapons charges that saw him serve multiple years in prison. In fact, the Cleveland native is already incarcerated at the Trumbull Correctional Institution after pleading guilty to unrelated attempted robbery and weapons offenses in 2022.
An investigation linked Silver to the crime using DNA and gun tool mark evidence from the scene.
In April 2023—more than 3.5 years after the incident—Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley announced that Silver had been indicted on the following charges:
- 15 counts of Aggravated Murder
- One count of Aggravated Burglary
- One count of Aggravated Robbery
- One count of Having Weapons Under Disability
- One count of Tampering With Evidence
3News' Tyler Carey contributed to this report.