Duo sentenced to 40 years for 'heinous' murder of former roommate

Two people were sentenced to 40 years for the 2017 murder of their former roommate. 

Christina Harnish, also known as Christina Stallings, and William Rice, were living with Megan Tilman and her elderly mother in the fall of 2017. Harnish and Rice relied on the financial support of Tilman and her mother, according to the State's Attorney. 

When the money stopped, Tilman disappeared. 

Her body was found in October 2017 in the bay in the Centerhurst community of Shady Side, Maryland. 

By that point, Harnish and Rice had fled to Arizona by bus. 

The pair were connected by police to Tilman's missing vehicle: Rice was seen driving the vehicle to ATM machines, and Harnish posted photos to social media while driving the vehicle before the pair fled. The car was found abandoned near a bus depot. 

Harnish and Tilman were arrested in Arizona and extradited to Maryland in 2022. 

An Anne Arundel County judge sentenced the pair to the maximum 40 years in prison for the "senseless, thoughtless and heinous" second-degree murder of Tilman. 

"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," said State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. "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."