Girlfriend Testifies Wagner Murdered Hopkins Researcher

Lavelva “Li Li” Merritt said she loves John “Ya Ya” Wagner but testified in Baltimore Circuit Court on Thursday that he is responsible for the murder of Johns Hopkins University researcher Stephen Pitcairn.

Merritt, 25, testifying as a prosecution witness in Wagner's trial, described how she and Wagner, 38, planned to rob Pitcairn and how it went wrong.  Pitcairn was stabbed to death in a robbery over a year ago on St. Paul Street in Charles Village, according to prosecutors.

Merritt testified that when she and Wagner left their Maryland Avenue apartment on the night of July 25, 2010, they intended to rob someone.

The pair was at a bar on St. Paul Street, Merritt  said, when they saw a "6-foot-1 Caucasian dude” walk by. Merritt testified that she and Wagner looked at each other after Pitcairn passed “because he was our victim.”

Merritt said they left the bar and allowed let Pitcairn walk by so that he could be attacked from behind and not identify anyone. Wagner then allegedly grabbed Pitcairn in the 2600 block of St. Paul Street and after a brief struggle, stabbed him in the chest.

Merritt admitted that after Pitcairn was stabbed in the chest and lying on the ground, she reached down and punched him in the head and took his iPhone. She said she could still hear Pitcairn’s mother on the line after taking the phone. 

Assistant State’s Attorney Josh Felsen asked Merritt why she felt the need to punch Pitcairn and take his phone. She said, “I didn’t want to seem like no punk.”

Merritt also testified that she and Wagner ran back to their apartment at 2607 Maryland Ave., and tried to dispose of some of the evidence by washing off Wagner’s knife and throwing away a pair of blood-stained khaki shorts.

While at the apartment Kevin Cosby and Tyreen Williams -- two of the four other people they shared a room with in the apartment  --  returned, Merritt said. Merritt testified that she and Wagner gave Pitcairn’s credit card to Cosby to get money.

During the testimony, several members of Pitcairn’s family were visibly upset. At one point during a break in Merritt’s testimony, Gwen Pitcairn, Stephen Pitcairn’s mother, left the courtroom.

Defense attorney Gregory Fischer cross-examined Merritt and suggested that she was only testifying against Wagner in exchange for a plea deal. He pointed out that Merritt initially told homicide detectives that Wagner didn’t leave the house that night, and then changed her story during a hearing months later.

"Of course I told them that," Merritt said to the defense attorney.  "I love 'Ya' and I wouldn't want to incriminate myself."

Merritt also responded angrily to Fischer denying she was taking the plea deal as a way of getting out of jail quicker. She said she was remorseful for what happened and said she needed to serve jail time for what she did, but wasn’t willing to serve a life sentence for a murder she didn’t commit.

In May, Merritt agreed to a deal with the State’s Attorney’s office in which she would be charged only with armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The state agreed to seek a 15-year sentence and Merritt would be eligible for parole in 7 ½ years.

Merrit was originally indicted on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in addition to the robbery charges. She was facing life sentences if she was convicted of either first-degree murder or conspiracy to commit murder.

“I took the plea deal to take responsibility for what I did,” Merritt said.