Dundalk Man Who Fatally Stabbed Mother Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison
DUNDALK —A Dundalk man who stabbed his mother 36 times was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for second-degree murder.
Raymond George Swartz III, 27, sat blank-faced, shoulders slumped, at his sentencing in Baltimore County Circuit Court as his attorney told the judge about his long history of mental health problems and his difficult upbringing.
Swartz pleaded guilty last year to second-degree depraved-heart murder for causing the death of his 54-year-old mother, Stacy Franz, on March 17, 2022.
He also pleaded guilty to second-degree assault for stabbing his younger brother, Ryan, who was coming to their mother’s aid during the attack.
“Being arrested has been a huge wake-up call for me,” Swartz told Judge Garret Glennon, reading from a prepared statement. “I just wish I could go back in time and change. So instead, I’ll do what I can to better my mental health and better my life.”
Swartz was at his home on the 7300 block of Kirtley Road in Dundalk around 3 a.m. when he attacked his mother in her bed without provocation, prosecutors said.
Assistant State’s Attorney Katherine Smith said Franz screamed for help. Ryan Swartz came up from the basement and found his mother half on her bed and half on the floor. Then Swartz began assaulting his brother.
“At that time, Ryan is fighting for his life on that second floor,” Smith said, “as the defendant repeatedly stabs him with a black folding knife.”
The two brothers struggled until a china cabinet fell on top of them, allowing Ryan to get away, she said. Franz was able to get downstairs to the front door.
“She ultimately collapses at the front door, trying to escape the situation,” Smith said.
Swartz’s defense attorney, Rukaayat Balogun, said he has struggled with mental health issues from early childhood and often was not given adequate treatment. She said Swartz received Social Security benefits for his disability and that one relative told investigators they felt Franz “used the boys as a meal ticket.”
Swartz initially was charged with first-degree murder and entered a plea of not criminally responsible, which is similar to an insanity plea, where the defendant admits to the act but claims a mental disorder prevented them from understanding the criminality of their actions.
A forensic psychologist who evaluated Swartz found that he did not meet the criteria for that defense.
Dr. Michael O’Connell testified that Swartz suffers from several mental health disorders, including ADHD and cannabis abuse disorder. He told Judge Glennon that Swartz likely was experiencing cannabis-induced psychosis when he stabbed his mother. The night of the attack, Swartz talked about having “a little bit of Lucifer in him,” O’Connell said.
“This is not someone that’s strategically thinking, ‘I’m going to hurt somebody. I’m going to hurt my mother,’” O’Connell said.
Lisa Dever, deputy state’s attorney, underscored Swartz’s non-compliance with many mental health treatment plans starting in 2018, saying he often left treatment programs, missed multiple appointments, and did not take his prescribed medications.
“He was suicidal, threatening his mother, threatening his brother. He was placed on medication, and he did nothing except smoke marijuana every day, right?” Dever asked O’Connell. O’Connell agreed that Swartz “had a lot of trouble with compliance.”
Swartz asked Judge Glennon to sentence him to 15 years in prison.
His attorney, Rukaayat Balogun, asked that Swartz be housed at Patuxent Institution, a maximum security prison that offers programs for inmates with severe character disorders who typically have a history of substance dependency.
“Mr. Swartz did not wake up that day intending to harm his mother,” Balogun said. “Fifteen years is enough time to get treatment and still be young enough to be a positive member of society.”
No one would dispute that this was “a horrific, violent, savage attack on his mother,” Judge Glennon said, explaining that he understood the need to punish Swartz while also taking into consideration his long history of mental health issues.
Glennon handed down a sentence of 40 years in prison with all but 30 years suspended, with a recommendation that he serve his time at Patuxent Institution in Jessup. After his release, Swartz will be on five years of supervised probation. Swartz will not be allowed to contact his brother.