An Abingdon man was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of his ex-girlfriend’s 73-year-old grandmother in her Bel Air home last year.

Angelo Terrell Spencer, 25, was charged with seven felony charges of first- and second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, first- and second-degree rape and home invasion for the stabbing that took place in February of last year.

He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Harford County Circuit Court on Friday and was given a life sentence with all but 75 years suspended.

Spencer’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to court documents, Bel Air Police responded to the 700 block of Bedford Road around 2:40 p.m. on February 22, 2024. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, identified as Mary Catherine Bland, with multiple stab wounds and a then-17-year-old girl, who had allegedly been assaulted with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Both victims were transported to the hospital, during which Bland succumbed to her injuries, prosecutors said.

Harford County Sheriff’s deputies found Spencer at his home and took him into custody. Spencer told investigators that he had been texting the teen on the night in question, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Spencer told investigators that he then went to the girl’s home and attempted to get her attention by “crunching branches” near the basement door of the residence. When that proved unsuccessful, Spencer drove to the Bel Air Home Depot, where he purchased a pocketknife, gloves and a glass cutter, charging documents indicate.

He then returned to the home and cut a hole in a piece of laminate material that was covering a window on the rear basement door; he then stuck his hand through and failed to open the door due to a deadbolt lock, prosecutors said.

Court documents indicate that Spencer then went to the front of the home and rang the doorbell. When Bland answered the door, Spencer indicated to her that he was “looking for John,” according to prosecutors. Bland said she didn’t know John, at which point Spencer forced himself into the home, prosecutors say. Spencer then stabbed Bland multiple times, in the shoulder, panicked, and stabbed her multiple times, the documents say.

Prosecutors said an autopsy revealed that Bland was stabbed 25 times to her neck and upper back.

The teen victim told officers that Spencer had stabbed Bland and then sexually assaulted the girl in the home, according to charging documents.

Spencer denied sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend but said he’d held a knife to her neck, kissed her on the cheek, then dropped the knife and fled the area, according to charging documents.

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