Man with one killing on his record is now charged in two more Pierce County homicides
A 27-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a woman who was found dead in a car near University Place in 2022.
Marcus Riley Langford already was in custody in Pierce County Jail for a previous murder charge when he was charged with the killing of 33-year-old Annabelle Hichens. Hichens was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in a red Jeep Wrangler in the 1800 block of Day Island Boulevard on April 11, 2022.
Langford is facing charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, court records show. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf during his arraignment at Pierce County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon. A court commissioner set bail at $2 million, court documents show.
According to the declaration for determination of probable cause, Hichens was found dead in the backseat of the Jeep. Police found a receipt in the Jeep that had the name “Martez Spazzy” on it, which later was discovered to be the name Langford used on his Facebook page.
Prosecutors wrote that the red Jeep was a rental and had been associated with several vehicle prowls, vandalism and a weapon brandishing incident.
Video surveillance from the homicide scene showed a man, allegedly Langford, getting out of the Jeep and wiping down the exterior before running away. There was video surveillance from earlier that day which allegedly shows Langford inside the Jeep at an apartment complex. He was wearing clothing similar to what he had on around the time of the homicide, court documents show.
Prosecutors wrote that in May 2022 a detective visited Langford in King County, where he was in custody on an unrelated matter. Court documents state that Langford asked for a lawyer but then ”spontaneously said that he had been through a homicide in the past and he did not want to go through it again.”
A witness allegedly told detectives the reason Langford killed Hichens was because he was mad at her after she and her boyfriend has set him up to be robbed. The witness said that Langford told a friend that he was going to kill Hichens, court documents show.
Court documents say that Langford has a prior manslaughter conviction and is prohibited from owning firearms.
A GoFundMe was set up to help fund Hichens’ children’s education and about $22,340 was raised.
Langford’s Criminal History
Langford also faces charges for a killing at a Stadium District gas station where a parked car was shot at, killing its passenger, Marquis McGowan, and seriously injuring the driver on Nov. 19, 2022, according to a previous News Tribune article
Langford was charged in Pierce County Superior Court with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf at arraignment in August, and a $2 million bail was set, court records show.
Langford’s pre-trial hearing for the Stadium District killing is set for Nov. 28 at Pierce County Superior Court, court records show.
Langford has a manslaughter conviction where he was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for his role in a 2012 killing in Tacoma, where he shot a man during an apparent robbery.
