Background: Bruce Maiben appears in Essex County court in Salem, Massachusetts (WBZ/YouTube). Inset: Sherell Pringle (Riley-Antoine Funeral Home).
A man from Massachusetts has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his girlfriend during a night out, subsequently abandoning her body in a marsh.
Bruce Maiben, aged 48, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole, as announced by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday. This verdict followed a jury’s decision that found him guilty of the first-degree murder of 40-year-old Sherell Pringle.
The incident dates back to December 19, 2021, when Pringle’s family became alarmed after she failed to return home following an evening with her boyfriend. Authorities reported that the family “immediately expressed concern.” On December 21, her lifeless body was discovered in a marsh near Route 107 in Saugus, approximately 11 miles north of Boston.
Pringle endured 217 stab wounds, as revealed by her mother, Pearl Garner, which necessitated a closed-casket funeral. According to a report from Boston’s NBC affiliate WBTS, it was Pringle’s family and friends who located her body, utilizing technology to track her phone’s location.
“The most painful part is that I told the police from the beginning to find Bruce Maiben,” stated Pringle’s son, Jahmani Larionne, following the discovery of her body. “From day one, I insisted, ‘You need to find Bruce Maiben. He lives in Lynn. Track his phone to locate him.’”
Maiben was apprehended and brought before the Lynn District Court on December 23, 2021, just two days before Christmas. Initially facing charges of larceny over $1,200, evidence tampering, and obstruction, the case was escalated to Superior Court where Maiben was ultimately charged with Pringle’s murder.
He pleaded not guilty, and the case moved forward.
The victim’s family was present throughout the case, showing up in court by the dozens to watch the trial proceedings against Maiben, per video from local CBS affiliate WBZ.
As her daughter’s killer was sentenced, Garner addressed him directly. “You don’t deserve to be walking here. You will get what you deserve because God don’t like ugly,” she said, per local Fox affiliate WFXT. “You’re scum… I hope you rot in hell for what you did.”
Prosecutors suggested Pringle was planning to break up with Maiben after he reportedly broke into her home and threatened her with a knife after an argument. According to a court filing reviewed by Boston.com, Pringle sent one friend a text message shortly before she died saying she was “done with [Maiben].”
Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker hopes the conviction and sentencing bring them some semblance of peace.
“This verdict and subsequent sentence will ensure that the defendant will be held accountable for his senseless and atrocious conduct,” Tucker said. “Our hope is that the family and friends of Sherell Pringle can find some comfort in this outcome.”
Pringle’s obituary remembers her as a “natural-born leader” who was “very ambitious.” She leaves behind her son and “a boatload of relatives.”
