Life Sentence For Teen Convicted Of Killing Two MCPS Graduates

GERMANTOWN, MD — An Alexandria, Virginia, teenager convicted of fatally shooting two Northwest High School graduates earlier this year has been sentenced to life in prison.

Mohamed Aly, 19, pleaded guilty to the crimes in Halifax Circuit Court on Thursday. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms for the first-degree murders of Joel Bianda, 21, of Alexandria, and Ayanna Maertens Griffin, 19, of Germantown, Maryland.

Aly was also sentenced to an additional 18 years for related firearms offenses, according to a news release from the Halifax County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.

"The Commonwealth has consulted closely with law enforcement and the families of the victims, which we do whenever possible," said Commonwealth's Attorney Tracy Quackenbush Martin. "Most of the family members wanted to see Aly spend the rest of his life in prison, and the Commonwealth agreed that multiple life sentences were appropriate to achieve justice in the case."

The killings happened on Feb. 8 after Bianda agreed to drive Aly from Alexandria to Danville, Virginia. Bianda's girlfriend, Maertens Griffin, came along for the ride, according to Virginia State Police.

Aly brought a firearm with him and told police that he was having "bad thoughts" and doubts about college and his home life, officials said.

About an hour away from Danville, Aly asked Bianda to pull over. While Bianda was pulling over and the car was still moving, Aly — who was sitting in the middle of the back seat — pointed the gun at Bianda's head, prosecutors said.

"I pointed the gun at his head, without thinking, without saying anything, I pulled the trigger," he told police. He then shot Maertens Griffin.

The car was still moving after the victims were shot, and Aly tried to stop it from the backseat. He was able to pull the car over in the median on Highway 58 near Melon Road. He pulled the two victims out and left their bodies in the grassy median before driving off to Danville.

Aly picked up a friend, who was then a juvenile, at or around Danville — but then remembered he had left the gun at the scene.

He and his friend returned to the scene and got rid of Bianda and Maertens Griffin's cellphones.

Aly left Bianda's wallet but took the gun and tried to drive off. In an attempt to escape, he lost control of the car and crashed into an embankment. He abandoned the car, and the two ran into the woods near Melon Road. They disposed of the gun and its two magazines in different locations, the news release said.

Aly and his friend found a cab to pick them up at an empty residence on Highway 58 and went to Danville. The two cleaned up, and Aly disposed of his clothes in a dumpster. Another driver took them to Virginia State University, where Aly convinced a friend from Alexandria to pick them up.

Aly told the friend he had been in a car accident, and they rode to Aly's home in Northern Virginia.

On the same day as the shooting, Virginia State Police responded to what they initially thought was a single-vehicle crash on Route 58 in Halifax County's Turbeville community. When authorities arrived, they found a silver 2009 Nissan Maxima in the median and two bodies lying near the car.

Meanwhile, Aly had returned to T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, "posted on social media, and generally appeared to resume normal life," a news release stated.

Aly was arrested at his high school five days after the killings. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Officials said Aly's confession was corroborated by physical evidence. A motive has not yet been established.

"One of the most painful aspects of this case is that the family may never know Aly's motive to murder their loved ones. We are all left asking, why? Although I am pleased that we had the chance to bring the family closure on this chapter in their lives, we may never have an answer to that question," the Halifax County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said.

SEE ALSO:

• 2 MCPS Grads Found Slain In Southern Virginia: State Police
  
• VA Teen Charged In Murders Of Two Northwest High School Grads