A Maryland funeral director was found guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting a pallbearer at a burial service for a 10-year-old girl, who herself had been shot to death.
Wilson Chavis, 50, was also convicted of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and reckless endangerment, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office announced on Friday, Feb. 14.
“When acts of violence occur at places that should be sacred like funeral homes and cemeteries, it’s horrific,” said State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “With this guilty verdict, Mr. Chavis will be held accountable for his reckless, callous actions.”
Chavis went to the Washington National Cemetery in Suitland on June 6, 2023, where the funeral home he owned, Compassion and Serenity, was hosting a service for 10-year-old Arianna Davis, who was fatally shot on Mother’s Day in 2023.
Authorities said Chavis allegedly got into a confrontation with two people from another funeral home that Chavis had a long-standing business dispute with. Funeral attendees confronted Chavis about his behavior and at one point he pulled out a gun and fired.
Thirty-year-old Ronald Banks, who was a pallbearer, was fatally shot. A second victim suffered a graze wound.
Chavis left the area and was later picked up during a traffic stop, CBS News Baltimore reported.
“The saddest part about that day was that the mother of Arianna Davis said she never got to see her daughter be buried and lowered into the ground,” said Assistant State’s Attorney William Porter, per WUSA9. “Someone had to tell her where her daughter was buried later.”
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Arianna was a passenger in a car with her family when she was hit by a stray bullet in Washington, D.C.
Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.