“He my baby. We won’t see her anymore. He didn’t deserve to go like that.”

“I can’t believe he did this to the mother of his kids.”

Police say on June 16th, Harry Lindsay was arrested for allegedly assaulting and strangling Sharita Christell, but he was ultimately released from jail. He called her mother after he was released, not to just apologize, but to tell her that he wanted to marry her daughter.

“I can’t believe he did this. He told me he would never ever hurt my daughter and he did it. And you could see the rage in his eyes.”

Garice Nabinette listened to every word he said. Before they got off that call, he told her this: “Mom, I’m sorry and I love you. I love your daughter. I’ll never do it again.”

Four days. That was all the time between that promise and the moment Sharita Christell lost her life.

“Four days later, he killed my baby. I can’t believe he did this to the mother of his kids.”

This same man was wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor from weeks earlier after he was arrested for attacking her.

“I believe that if this defendant were locked up, this victim would still be here.”

“She was a beautiful person, a loving mother, and she tried to make this man happy, but it wasn’t enough for him. He was never satisfied.”

Sharita Christell was born on June 6th, 1996. She grew up to be the kind of person that people genuinely loved being around. Warm, stylish, and full of energy. Her family knew her as Rita, and to anyone who knew her, that name came with a smile. Her family held her close all her life. Sharita had two mother figures: Garice Nabinette, her biological mother, and Joyce Christell, her adoptive mother, who raised her into adulthood.

Sharita was a makeup artist, and she was good at what she did.

“My daughter was the DMV makeup artist. She did a lot of people’s makeup. She did K. Michelle. She did another young lady—I can’t remember her name—but everybody loved my daughter. She did makeup very, very well. She did her own business. She did this for herself.”

Her business, Makeup by Heather, earned her a name across the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She went by the name “Gorgeous Heather” in her brand and was driven, running her own business and building her own lane. She loved outings and vacations. Sharita was a mother to two girls, Iyla and Harmony. The people closest to her described her as a devoted, loving mother who put her children above everything else.

On June 6th, 2025, Sharita celebrated turning twenty-nine. She had her business, her girls, and her family surrounding her with love.

Thirty-two-year-old Harry Lindsay and Sharita had been in a relationship for about ten years, and together they had their two daughters. It was a long history, but the family described that relationship as turbulent and marked by repeated episodes of altercations and arguments that they were all too familiar with. Harry also had prior convictions on weapons charges.

At some point, the relationship between Sharita and Harry came to an end. According to reports, the decision to leave came after Harry was unfaithful to her. According to Sharita’s mother, he broke down, begging Sharita not to leave. He could not handle the idea of her choosing happiness without him.

“He said, ‘I don’t want you to leave me.’ He said, ‘Please don’t leave me, Rita. If you leave me, I’m not going to be any good.’ He broke down.”

In the early hours of June 16th, 2025, around 4:21 in the morning, officers from the Bladensburg Police Department were dispatched to the 4300 block of 57th Avenue in Bladensburg, Maryland, in response to a domestic incident. They arrived on the scene just two minutes later. When they got there, they found Harry Lindsay in the hallway. When officers made contact with Sharita, they noticed visible marks on her body. Sharita told officers exactly what had happened—that Harry had hit her and attempted to choke her.

“County executive and former state’s attorney Aisha Braveboy says Lindsay tried to strangle her back in June. An individual who had abused her, who we believe tried to kill her by strangulation, should be held without bond.”

Harry was charged with first and second-degree assault and transported to the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections. According to reports, officers made sure to provide Sharita with information on counseling services and completed an assessment to help evaluate her safety going forward.

Two days later, prosecutors from the state’s attorney’s office stood before a judge and argued that Harry Lindsay should be held without bond. Their position was clear: a man who had just been arrested for attacking the mother of his children should not be walking free. But that request was denied.

About a week later, Harry Lindsay walked out of custody and was placed on home detention with an ankle monitor.

Now, Maryland had made strangulation a first-degree felony back in 2020, carrying a maximum penalty of twenty-five years, upgraded from what had previously been treated as a misdemeanor because they believed victims of strangulation are seven times more likely to become victims of a homicide. But the judge saw it differently, and Harry Lindsay went home with a monitor on his ankle.

“The person who’s applying that level of pressure on someone means and intends to kill them. They have no regard for them as a human being. Which is why they can commit such a heinous violent act. And honestly, unlike in some instances, if you’re shooting someone, that’s different than if you are manually strangling someone. So just that act alone is so heinous that anyone who’s willing to do that is someone who is a danger not only to the victim but potentially to others.”

After his release, Harry reached out to Garice. He called her on the phone, and according to Garice, the conversation took a turn that nobody expected. He did not just apologize. He told her he wanted to marry Sharita.

But the question lingered: why her mother? Why not Sharita directly? Could it be that Sharita had already made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him, leaving him with no other option but to go through her mother to get a message across?

“Good afternoon. My name is Garice Marda. I’m Sharita’s biological mom. He said, ‘I love your daughter.’ And I said, ‘If you love my daughter, why would you put your hands on my daughter?’ I said, ‘That was the wrong thing to do.’ He said, ‘What do I need to do?’ I said, ‘You both need to go to therapy and try to fix this.’ He said, ‘I want to marry your daughter.’ I said, ‘If you want to marry my daughter, why didn’t you marry my daughter before you had them two beautiful girls that you all have?’ I said, ‘Don’t sit on this phone and tell me that you love my daughter and you don’t mean it.’ I said, ‘I’mma tell you, don’t ever put your hands on my daughter again or we going to have a problem.’ He said, ‘Mom, I’m sorry and I love you. I love your daughter. I’ll never do it again.’”

Garice took those words in. She had no reason to believe they were anything more than words. So she held on to that hope.

On July 5th, 2025—the Fourth of July weekend—around 3:35 in the afternoon, officers from the Prince George’s County Police Department responded to a call reporting a shooting inside an apartment at the 700 block of Stretford Way in Landover, Harry Lindsay’s apartment. When officers arrived, they found Sharita Christell. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Witnesses in the area reported hearing the two arguing before the shots were fired. Investigators determined that Sharita was hurt during the course of that argument. By the time officers arrived, he had already fled the scene—and he was still wearing that ankle monitor.

“Police identifying the victim as 29-year-old Sharita Christell. Her deceased body found in that apartment complex across the street behind me. The accused killer, no stranger.”

An emotional moment there for Garice Marda, saying her daughter’s boyfriend turned accused killer, 32-year-old Harry Lindsay, was recently arrested for trying to kill her daughter. In that case, just four days prior, Lindsay was released over prosecutors’ objections that he should be held without bond. Just days after being released, Lindsay is accused of fatally shooting Christell, his girlfriend and the mother of their two daughters.

Lindsay is now charged in connection with her murder that reportedly took place on Saturday afternoon inside an apartment here on Stratford Way in Landover. When police and first responders arrived, Christell was already dead. Lindsay was apprehended on Sunday in Capitol Heights, and police say they used surveillance video to track him down. He was on the run until they were able to nab him. He’s now being held without bond.

County Executive Aisha Braveboy said that this is a homicide that should never have happened. Residents in the area were not comfortable talking about this violent and deadly encounter on camera.

Sharita had just celebrated her twenty-ninth birthday twenty-nine days before this incident.

On July 6th, 2025, Sharita’s sister posted on Facebook. She asked for prayers for her family. She said that Harry had taken her little sister Rita and that he did not have to do it. She wrote that she was still trying to process it and that she just could not.

The Prince George’s County Police Department’s homicide unit took the lead, and detectives reached out to the Metro Transit Police Department, which came through with surveillance video that helped investigators track Harry’s movements and determine his whereabouts after he fled. The PGPD fugitive unit worked through the night, and on the morning of July 6th, 2025, they located and arrested Harry Lindsay in Capitol Heights. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections, where he was placed on a no-bond status.

On July 7th, 2025, the Prince George’s County Police Department released an official statement confirming that Harry Lindsay had been charged in connection with Sharita’s passing. The statement also confirmed the details of the incident and his arrest. Underneath that post, Tama Ford wrote: “Took my sister from us. Didn’t think about y’all children. They have no mother or father now.”

On July 8th, 2025, Prince George’s County held a press conference to address Sharita’s passing. County Executive Aisha Braveboy made it clear that her office had argued for no bond on June 18th and that the system had not followed through.

“I can’t say why the decision was made completely to allow this particular defendant to be released on home monitoring. I can’t tell you why that happened, but what I can tell you is that it should not have. I think that our system has to do a much better job of understanding victims and victimhood and what’s needed in order to protect victims. I believe that if this defendant were locked up, this victim would still be here.”

Sharita was the tenth victim of a domestic violence homicide in Prince George’s County in 2025 up to that point.

Sharita’s mother, Garice, and her sister also spoke.

“He don’t deserve to come home. He should never come home. Anybody that ever tell a woman that they love them—they say things that they think we want to hear. But when he tell you he’s going to kill you, you need to get away. He’s not going to say it just to say it. He’s saying it because he means it. It’s too many women out here losing their lives over domestic violence, and it’s not fair.”

“My daughter wanted to get away from him. He said, ‘I don’t want you to leave me.’ He said, ‘Please don’t leave me, Rita. If you leave me, I’m not going to be any good.’ He broke down. I said, ‘You opened this door. You cheated on my daughter. So now when she found somebody else that was making her happy, you’re angry. You took her life. You get to go to jail and be free. I’ll never get her back. Never get her back.’”

“Domestic violence is very serious, and people need to acknowledge this. When somebody tells you this, I don’t care how afraid you are, you need to report it. Don’t be scared. They going to tell you, ‘I’mma kill you. I’mma kill your family.’ No, you tell. That’s why we have 911. You call, you get help. It can save your life. And I wish I was there to try to save my daughter’s life, but she’s gone now.”

“I can’t believe he did this. He told me he would never ever hurt my daughter, and he did it. And you could see the rage in his eyes. I’m sorry. This feeling, this pain that I have, it will never go away. I have to deal with this for the rest of my life. And my grandkids, they cry every day. I’m going to get them therapy. I’m going to love them. I’m going to take care of them. And I’m going to raise them the right way. And I’m going to teach them: if you ever get in a relationship and a man threatens you, you make sure you let me know or you know how to call 911 to get help.”

Councilwoman Wanika Fisher of Prince George’s County Council District 2 also released a statement in the days following Sharita’s passing. She wrote: “I am deeply saddened by the loss of life that occurred on Saturday. My prayers are with Sharita Christell’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. I find it concerning that Harry Lindsay, after being placed on house arrest for attacking his girlfriend, was released back into society. Lindsay has been charged. However, the perpetrator should have never been released back into the community. Failure to properly apprehend him cost a young woman her life. I commend the swift action by the Prince George’s County Police Department and support provided by the Metro Transit Police Department to apprehend the suspect less than twenty-four hours after the incident. We will strive to honor Sharita’s memory through our commitment to preventing domestic incidents like this and creating safer communities.”

On July 12th, 2025, the family gathered to honor Sharita with a balloon release. It was a moment for everyone who loved her to come together and remember her.

On July 13th, 2025, Sharita’s sister wrote a message that hinted at the complexity of grief. “I realize that sometimes some people don’t always accept that they can say and do hurtful things, especially coming from family and close friends. People need to realize things are not all what they seem. It is always three sides to a story. No one should ever assume they know the whole story because you do not. The thing is, when you tell people about your situation, make sure to tell it all and not what you want people to hear. I love my family, my friends, and anyone who shows me love. Always allow yourself to see the bigger picture. Not what you think is best for you, but think of what is best for everyone.”

Whether it was directed at the narrative surrounding the case, at specific people in her circle, or at something else entirely, we can’t say for certain. But if it was made in connection to what happened, what it does is remind us that in every situation like this, the full picture is rarely visible from the outside.

On July 29th, 2025, Sharita Christell was laid to rest. The service was held at Faith City Central located at 2261 Oxon Run Drive in Temple Hills, Maryland. In the weeks that followed, Garice posted about her daughter. She wrote: “Sharita, mommy loves you. You will be truly missed, but never forgotten. I can’t stop thinking about you, my beautiful angel.”

Harry Lindsay remained in the custody of the Prince George’s County Department of Corrections on a no-bond status, charged with first and second-degree murder. The prior first and second-degree charges from the June 16th incident remained on record alongside the current charges.

Sharita Christell made the decision to leave a dangerous situation and had already started walking into something better. The system had documentation, a high-danger assessment, a prior arrest, prior weapons convictions, a prosecutor’s request for no bond. And still, the protection was not there when she needed it most.

County Executive Aisha Braveboy stood at the podium and asked the questions that no one could fully answer. “What I can tell you is that in cases involving strangulation in particular, because of the lethality involved, we request routinely no bond, and oftentimes we receive a no-bond status for the defendant. In this case, that didn’t happen.”

She paused, letting the weight of those words settle.

“The justice system isn’t just the prosecutor’s office, right? You have defense, you have judges, you have other judicial officers who make their own assessments and determinations. What I can say is that I have always believed that strangulation was one of the most serious crimes that anyone can commit. When you think about it, it takes time to actually kill someone by strangulation. What you’ll hear from strangulation victims who survive is that they were unconscious for a moment, that they felt like they were going to die. The person who’s applying that level of pressure on someone means and intends to kill them. They have no regard for them as a human being.”

She looked directly at the cameras.

“I can’t say why the decision was made completely to allow this particular defendant to be released on home monitoring. I can’t tell you why that happened. But what I can tell you is that it should not have happened. I believe that if this defendant were locked up, this victim would still be here.”

The room was silent. Garice stood beside her daughter’s sister, both of them still carrying the weight of a promise made and broken.

“He told me he would never ever hurt my daughter. And he did it. And you could see the rage in his eyes.”

Four days. That was all the time between the promise and the loss. Four days between a mother’s hope and a mother’s grief.

Sharita’s two daughters will grow up without her. Without their father, who is now in prison. They will have birthdays without her smile. School plays without her in the audience. Graduations without her applause. They will be raised by the grandmother who stood at that podium and warned other women not to make the same mistake—not because Sharita made a mistake, but because the system did.

“My grandkids, they cry every day. I’m going to get them therapy. I’m going to love them. I’m going to take care of them. And I’m going to raise them the right way. And I’m going to teach them: if you ever get in a relationship and a man threatens you, you make sure you let me know or you know how to call 911 to get help.”

Assistant Chief George Nichols of the Prince George’s County Police Department stepped to the podium after the family spoke. His voice was heavy.

“I’m just at a loss for words that we’re here today to discuss such a tragic event and the loss of such a beautiful life at an early age. What I’d like to do is remind everyone that although they mentioned resources, the Prince George’s County Police Department has a great victim advocate. We have the House of Ruth. We have many shelters. We partner with the Family Justice Center here and the Prince George’s County Office of the Sheriff. So please, if you are suffering, you do not have to suffer in silence. I ask that you please reach out so we can get you the resources you need to help you be removed from an unhealthy situation or relationship.”

Deputy Chief Lightner then detailed the investigation. “On July 5th at approximately 3:35 p.m., our officers responded to a call for service for a shooting inside of an apartment in the 700 block of Stretford Way in Landover. Officers arrived on scene and located the victim, who was ultimately pronounced deceased on scene. Our victim in this case is 29-year-old Sharita Christell of Bladensburg, Maryland. Our suspect in this case is 32-year-old Harry Lindsay of Landover, Maryland. Our investigation revealed the suspect shot the victim during an argument between the two.”

Thanks to the quick work of the homicide and fugitive units, as well as help from partners at Metro Transit Police, who provided critical surveillance video, investigators were able to locate the suspect within minutes and begin tracking him. The fugitive unit worked tirelessly, and within hours of the shooting, they brought the suspect into custody. He’s being held on no-bond status, charged with first and second-degree murder.

Deputy Chief Cedric Dickerson of the Bladensburg Police Department spoke about the June 16th incident. “On June the 16th at approximately 4:21 a.m., officers from Bladensburg Police Department were dispatched to the 4300 block of 57th Avenue in Bladensburg for a domestic involving the victim, Sharita Christell. Officers arrived on the scene two minutes after being dispatched at 4:23 a.m. and made contact with Harry Lindsay in the hallway. Once officers contacted the victim, they noticed visible marks and placed the suspect in custody. Miss Christell bravely reported that she had been thrown to the ground, assaulted, and strangled. Officers charged Harry Lindsay with first and second-degree assault and transported him to Prince George’s County Department of Corrections.”

He paused. “We are very heartbroken about this incident. It was very tragic. The loss was devastating to all of our community. Our hearts go out to the victim’s family and loved ones as they navigate unimaginable grief. We mourn with them and reaffirm our commitment to protecting victims of domestic violence and holding offenders accountable.”

The press conference ended, but the questions lingered. How many more? How many more women will be failed by a system that knows the danger and still releases the dangerous? How many more mothers will have to bury their daughters because a judge decided that a ankle monitor was enough?

Garice had one final message. “Domestic violence is very serious, and people need to acknowledge this. When somebody tells you this, I don’t care how afraid you are, you need to report it. Don’t be scared. They’re going to tell you, ‘I’mma kill you. I’mma kill your family.’ No, you tell. That’s why we have 911. You call, you get help. It can save your life.”

Sharita’s sister added, “I am happy that my sister got a chance to experience love, even though it wasn’t with him. She got a chance to know what real love was. She did try to get away, but it was not in time. It was too late. Please find a way to get away. Please.”

“Domestic violence is serious. It’s nothing to play with. Never let anybody—I don’t care if it’s a man, I don’t care if it’s a woman—do not let anybody put their hands on you. Don’t give them chances. Don’t believe anything they say. They’re going to manipulate you to the fullest. Don’t listen to them. Do what you think is best for yourself. And please, if you got children, please find a way to get out. Your kids should not see a man or woman being hurt. It just doesn’t make sense. No child should have to experience that.”

Sharita’s family will carry her memory. Her daughters will carry her DNA. Her community will carry her story. And Harry Lindsay will carry the weight of what he did for the rest of his life—twenty-five to fifty years, according to his sentence.

But twenty-five years is not enough. Fifty years is not enough. Nothing is enough when a mother has to bury her child.

The balloon release on July 12th sent colors into the sky. Balloons rising, drifting, disappearing into the clouds. Each one a prayer. Each one a memory. Each one a reminder of a woman who loved makeup, loved her daughters, loved life—and lost it all because a man refused to let her go.

Garice looked up at the balloons and whispered something that might have been a goodbye or might have been a promise. “I’ll never get her back. Never get her back.”

Four days. A promise. A monitor. A system that failed. And a family left to pick up the pieces.

Rest in peace, Sharita. May your daughters grow up knowing how fiercely you loved them. And may your story save someone else before it’s too late.