Cleveland Man Sentenced to Life for Murdering Four in 2019
A Cleveland man has been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the brutal killings of four individuals in a home. Terrell Silver, 35, was found guilty of multiple charges, including seven counts of aggravated murder, four counts of murder, five counts of felonious assault, one count of attempted murder, and one count of attempted burglary.
The tragic events unfolded between September 7 and September 21, 2019, when Silver was in a residence near East 144th Street and Kinsman Road. On September 21, 2019, officers from the Cleveland Division of Police discovered the decomposing bodies of the victims, identified as 20-year-old Dejuan Damar Willis, 19-year-old Aiyanna Quitman, 23-year-old Christopher Monroe, and 18-year-old Jazmyne Lawson.
Before sentencing, Tammy Quitman, the mother of one of the victims, addressed the court with an emotional impact statement. “This has been the most difficult five years of my life,” she shared, expressing the deep pain of her loss. “I will never be the same. I will never have the honor of taking my daughter to a bridal shop for a wedding dress.” She lamented, “You have destroyed four families and five lives – and for what?”
In his defense, Silver maintained his innocence, expressing condolences to the families of the victims. He presented a lengthy statement in which he continued to assert that he was not responsible for the crimes. This led to a heated exchange with the judge, who reminded him, “That killer was you. That was what the jury found, and that is what I am sentencing you on.”
The judge highlighted Silver’s prior convictions, stating she had sentenced him in two other cases in the past. “You killed four people and an unborn baby,” she emphasized, before sentencing him to five life terms without the possibility of parole for the murders. Additionally, he received more than 20 years for the other charges, with the sentences to be served consecutively, meaning each term will be completed one after the other. “Consecutive prison terms are necessary to punish you and protect the public,” the judge concluded.
