Reginald Lively, a man with a history of violence spanning several decades, has been found guilty of first-degree murder in Baltimore. This marks his third murder conviction since 1986, as confirmed by State’s Attorney Ivan Bates.
Lively, aged 68, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2021 murder of 68-year-old John Hall III, which took place in Hall’s apartment in Northwest Baltimore.
Previously, Lively had been paroled twice for earlier murder convictions. His first conviction was in 1986 and another followed in 2000, both before his latest crime.
In 1986, Lively admitted guilt in Anne Arundel County for the second-degree murder of Eleanor Williams, leading to an eight-year stint of a 20-year sentence. Following his release, he again pleaded guilty in 2000 for the second-degree murder of Willy Mae Arrington in North Carolina. He was handed a 30-year sentence but was released after serving approximately 12 years.
A breakthrough in a cold case investigation resulted in Lively’s conviction for the brutal murder of John Hall III in a Baltimore apartment in 2021.
“This violent offender should never have been allowed to walk free,” said Bates in a statement on November 12. “Thanks to Chief Bjorklund’s tireless advocacy for Mr. Hall’s family, those days are over. No longer will repeat violent offenders serve a few years only to be released and terrorize our communities again. My office will continue to ensure they face the full weight of justice.”
For several years, Hall’s death remained unsolved. The case was revived under the direction of Cold Case Unit Chief Kurt Bjorklund, whose team conducted new investigative work that ultimately led to a jury conviction for first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon.
On the morning of May 28, 2021, around 10:25 a.m., officers responded to an apartment at 3809 Clarks Lane after reports of an unconscious and injured man. Maintenance workers had entered the unit after residents on lower floors complained of water leaking from their ceilings. Inside, they found Hall on the floor, bleeding and covered with a blanket. He was pronounced dead shortly after 11 a.m.
An autopsy later revealed Hall had suffered at least 17 blunt-force injuries and 88 sharp-force wounds. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
Investigators learned that Hall, who lived alone, had won about $1,000 at a casino the night before his death, but no comparable amount of cash was found in his apartment.
A Baltimore Police forensics technician documents the scene where a man was fatally shot by police, on Nov. 7, 2023, in Baltimore. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP, File)
Attention soon turned to Lively, who lived in the same building. Surveillance video showed him entering the elevator around 6:17 a.m. on the morning of the murder and exiting about 35 minutes later carrying a plastic bag that appeared to contain a heavy, reddish-stained object. When he returned less than 15 minutes later, the bag was gone.
Phone records placed him in the building during the likely time of the killing, between 6:32 and 6:41 a.m. Detectives also discovered that Hall had previously accused Lively of trying to steal money from him. Because of severe gout, Hall often left his door unlocked in the mornings to avoid repeated trips to answer it.
Police executed a search warrant on Lively’s apartment on June 11, 2021, finding clothing that matched what he wore in the surveillance video. DNA testing later confirmed Lively’s presence inside Hall’s apartment.
Baltimore Police investigate the site of a mass shooting in the city’s Brooklyn Homes neighborhood on July 2, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
During questioning, Lively initially denied involvement, claiming he had been asleep. When confronted with surveillance images, he admitted he was the man in the video but gave conflicting explanations, at one point claiming the bag contained a wrench taken from a vacant unit, an account investigators did not find credible.
“Clearly, this investigation needed ‘fresh eyes,‘” Bjorklund said. “Without question, the file contained significant evidence against the defendant dating from 2021, but there were more avenues to pursue, including additional DNA testing. Credit is due to the Baltimore Police Department for its continuing investigation and collaboration with SAO’s Cold Case Unit.”
With his latest conviction, Bates’ office said Lively will spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole, ending a violent criminal career that twice saw him freed early before killing again.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
