WALDORF, Md. — A 23-year-old man charged with killing a 7-Eleven clerk during an armed robbery was convicted by a jury on multiple charges, including first-degree murder.
Lynn Marie Maher, a 49-year-old mother, was shot to death by Gregory DeShawn Collins, Jr. on Oct. 1, 2020. The shooting happened around 1 a.m. at the 7-Eleven on Middletown Road in Waldorf within seconds of a man entering the store and demanding money. Several customers were inside the store during the shooting, and no one else was injured.
"This is a very quiet area," Charles County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Diane Richardson said at the time of the shooting. "It's unusual that something like this happens. We think that the community obviously will be outraged, and again if anybody knows anything, we're hoping that they'll call."
Collins was located and apprehended in Georgia two weeks after the shooting and extradited back to Maryland. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
His jury trial began on May 2 and the jury returned a guilty verdict Wednesday. He was found guilty on nine charges, including:
- first-degree felony murder
- Use of Handgun in the commission of a crime of violence
- first-degree assault
- Use of a handgun in the commission of a 1st-degree assault
- Armed Robbery
- Use of a handgun in the commission of an armed robbery
- Theft $100-1,500
- Wear, Carry, and Transport of a gun
- Possession of a loaded handgun on a person
According to her family, Maher was a mother of three and stepmother to a fourth, who was regarded as a friendly fixture that made the convenience store a community gathering place. Originally from Germantown, Maher was a second-degree black belt in taekwondo who volunteered to teach kids who couldn’t afford lessons self-defense, her family said.
But when faced with a gun, she didn’t resist the robbery, they said.
Over the last year and a half, Lynn's husband Travis Maher said the main question he had was why. Why did Collins kill his wife despite her giving the money over? After more than a week-long trial, he finally got his answer.
"We found out why," Travis Maher said. "There was just a lot of, I guess a lot of selfishness and just wanting the almighty dollar right off the bat and trying to find it the quickest way. And I now know the reasons behind why it was done."
Travis and Lynn Maher had been married for nearly 12 years when she was murdered. In the days following her death, Travis Maher told WUSA9 that the dream of their growing old together, and knowing she wouldn't ever be coming home was the hardest to deal with.
More than a year later, and hours after the sentencing of Lynn Maher's convicted murderer, Travis Maher said the wound of her death had been reopened during the trial. However, knowing her killer will be held responsible will help him and their family move forward.
“It will take time, but I think all of us, the pain and the hurt will subside and I think that would be just time. It will take time, I know for sure but just doing that will allow us all to heal and go on with life," Travis Maher said. "She’s one that would always want us to keep continuing on and keep doing whatever we had to do and not to keep looking backward."
Travis said he spoke with Collins's family after the verdict and offered prayers and forgiveness, a step towards healing.
"We have a wife, a mom, daughter, that is not with us anymore, but then there's also a son that won't be able to be around for their family for some time to come," Travis Maher said. "So we both gave each other prayers and each other forgiveness so that we can kind of move on and kind of go on with life and heal.”
In August, Travis will have the chance to talk to Collins Jr. himself during the sentencing, something he intends to do.
The sentencing is set for August 2.