'If I End Up Dead’: Morgan State Student’s Warning Came True, Ex-Boyfriend Pleads Guilty to Murder

“If I end up dead…”

Taejhiana Walker was a 22-year-old Morgan State University student from New York who was trying to end a relationship with Rashard “Toni” Mack in late March 2025.

As his behavior became increasingly alarming, police said, she texted a family member: “If I end up dead, Toni did it. His name is Rashard Mack.”

The next day, Baltimore County police responding to a 911 call found Walker dead in the bedroom of her apartment on the 8300 block of Nunley Drive in Parkville. She had been stabbed eight times.

Mack, 24, of Kitmore Road in Baltimore, pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree murder, just as jury selection for his trial was set to begin in Baltimore County Circuit Court.

Prosecutors had been seeking a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Under a plea agreement, both sides agreed to a sentence of life in prison with all but 50 years suspended. Mack would be eligible to seek parole after serving 20. Because the sentence is legally a life sentence with a partially suspended term, Maryland parole rules for life sentences apply.

Mack can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge decides at sentencing Sept. 30 to hand down a sentence longer than 50 years.

At Monday's plea hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Emily Abell read a statement of facts outlining the evidence the state would have presented had the case gone to trial.

Walker met Mack on Instagram during the summer of 2024 after completing her freshman year at Morgan State University.

The two met in person when she returned to the Baltimore area to begin her sophomore year. They dated through the fall semester, but by winter break, the relationship had begun to unravel. Walker stopped responding to Mack's calls and text messages. According to police, he reached out to her roommates in an effort to contact her.

The two resumed dating when Walker returned to Morgan for the spring semester in January. But by late March, Walker had decided to end the relationship.

"Ms. Walker made it clear that she did not want to be in a relationship any longer with the defendant," Abell said.

Police said Mack wanted to continue the relationship. According to charging documents, he admitted going to Walker's bedroom window on more than one occasion in hopes of talking to her.

On March 28, 2025, Walker told Mack she wanted to end the relationship because she no longer trusted him, Abell said. Mack responded that he would try to do better.

"It's clear from the defendant's responses that he did not accept this," Abell said.

Mack remained at Walker's apartment that day. When he eventually left, according to police, he did not go home. Instead, knowing the passenger-side door lock on Walker's car was broken, he climbed into the back seat and waited more than two hours for her to return from an outing with her cousin.

While he waited, investigators said, Mack searched his phone for phrases including, "Stabbed by girlfriend," "Is the death penalty legal in Maryland," and "How easy is it to get away with murder?"

Walker also searched online for advice on repairing a broken relationship.

When Walker returned home that night after spending the evening with her cousin, she got into her car to smoke and was startled to find Mack hiding in the back seat.

She texted her cousin, "This is genuinely some scary shit. My heart dropped when I realized someone was in my back seat."

Her cousin offered to return to Walker's home with a Taser and pepper spray.

Walker replied, "I don't think he's going to hurt me."

Around 1 p.m. the following day, Mack called 911.

Officers found him sitting in a folding chair in Walker's living room with cuts to his abdomen and right leg. A broken knife blade lay on the floor beside him. Officers later recovered the knife handle from beneath Walker's body, Abell said.

Walker had stab and cut wounds to her face, armpit and hands, Abell said.

Mack told police the two began arguing in Walker's bedroom around 9 a.m. He claimed Walker accused him of cheating and, while he was getting dressed, retrieved a kitchen knife from her nightstand and stabbed him in the abdomen.

According to charging documents, Mack told detectives he grabbed the knife while it was still in Walker's hand, breaking the blade as he tried to stop her from stabbing him again. He claimed Walker's facial injuries occurred when he pushed the knife back toward her during the struggle.

He told investigators they wrestled from the bed to the floor, where Walker allegedly picked up the broken knife blade and stabbed him in the leg.

Mack then admitted grabbing a pair of scissors and stabbing Walker "a few more times," according to charging documents.

Detectives concluded the physical evidence contradicted Mack's account and believed his injuries were self-inflicted.

In pre-trial hearings, Mack's attorneys had sought to suppress evidence recovered from his phone after learning Baltimore County Police Detective Storm Sheckells briefly accessed the iPhone before obtaining a search warrant. Sheckells correctly guessed Mack's passcode by entering his date of birth. Although the detective was reportedly disciplined for failing to disclose that he had accessed the phone, Judge Finifter ruled the evidence admissible.