Forestville, MD: Maryland Man Convicted in Girlfriend's Death

posted 8:05 pm Tue December 08, 2009 -

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. from ABC 7 News - http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1209/685609.html
A man has been convicted of second degree murder in the death of a Pikesville woman.

Forty-five-year-old Joseph Noland Coleman of Forestville, Maryland, was convicted of second degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Donna Marie Brown.

On October 5, 2008, police responded to 6310 Hil-Mar Drive in Forestville after a 911 call from a man saying he found his girlfriend lying in a pool of blood. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death as blunt force trauma and asphyxiation caused by manual strangulation.

Coleman eventually admitted that he and Brown, his girlfriend, had an argument the night of the murder, he struck her and she fell. He admitted that he might have struck her a couple of more times while she was on the floor. Authorities say Coleman also claimed he put his hands around her neck to help clear the blood from her throat and help her breathe.

Coleman also admitted that he knew she was dead when he left the apartment and that he waited until later that morning to call 911. He said spent the night at his mother's place knowing Brown was probably dead when he left. When he returned the next morning, he called police.

Donna Marie Brown was the ex-wife of prominent defense attorney Warren Brown.

Coleman is scheduled to be sentenced on February 5, 2010. He faces up to 30 years in prison.