Repeat violent offender found guilty of murder in Baltimore, his third murder conviction

A repeat violent offender was found guilty of first-degree murder in Baltimore City, his third murder conviction since 1986, State's Attorney Ivan Bates said on Wednesday.

Reginald Lively was sentenced to Life without the possibility of parole for the 2021 murder of 68-year-old John Hall III in Northwest Baltimore.  

Lively was previously found guilty of murders in 1986 and 2000.

"This violent offender should never have been allowed to walk free," Bates said. "Because of (Cold Case Unit) Chief (Kurt) Bjorklund's relentless advocacy for Mr. Hall's family, those days are over. No longer will repeat violent offenders serve a few years only to be released and terrorize our communities again. My office will continue to fight to ensure they face the full weight of justice."

Hall's murder investigated

On May 28, 2021, Baltimore officers responded to an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Clarks Lane for a person who had been bloodied and was unresponsive.

Maintenance crews told police neighbors reported water coming from their ceilings. When maintenance went to the apartment, they found Hall on the floor, bleeding, and covered with a blanket. Moments later, emergency responders pronounced him dead.

Initially, Hall's fatal injuries appeared to be blunt force trauma and sharp force trauma. He had lived in the apartment alone and officers couldn't see any signs of forced entry.

The next day, the medical examiner ruled Hall's death to be a homicide by blunt force and sharp force trauma. Hall had at least 17 blunt-force trauma injuries and a total of 88 sharp-force trauma injuries, according to the report.

Investigators learned that Hall had won approximately $1,000 gambling at the casino the previous evening. No large sums of money were found during the crime scene search. 

Lively, who lived in the apartment complex, was identified as a person of interest. Police said video of Lively's activities in and around the crime scene at the time of the murder was found and reviewed. 

Video, DNA evidence leads to arrest

According to police, the video showed Lively inside the building walking down the main floor hallway from his residence and entering the elevator. Moments later, Lively is seen leaving the elevator carrying a plastic bag with an unknown weighted object that appeared through the bag and was covered with something reddish in color. 

The video also showed Lively returning to the building through the side door of the building without the bag. Based on phone contact between Hall and one of his friends, detectives determined the murder occurred between 6:32 a.m. and 6:41 a.m.

According to police, Hall had accused Lively of attempting to steal an unknown amount of money from him. The report also said that Hall suffered from a severe case of gout and would leave his apartment door unlocked when he woke up to prevent going back and forth to the door.

On June 11, 2021, a search and seizure warrant was executed at Lively's apartment, where the clothing he was wearing in the video on the day of the murder was located and submitted as evidence. Additionally, a DNA search warrant was executed on the Lively to be compared to forensic evidence collected from the crime scene.

Police said Lively initially denied any involvement in the murder and said he was asleep at his home. However, when he was shown evidence, he identified himself in the photos.

DNA analysis confirmed Lively had been in Hall's apartment.

"Clearly, this investigation needed 'fresh eyes," Cold Case Unit Chief Kurt Bjorklund said. "Without question, the file contained significant evidence against the defendant dating from 2021, but there were more avenues to pursue, including additional DNA testing. Credit is due to the Baltimore Police Department for its continuing investigation and collaboration with SAO's Cold Case Unit."  

Prior murder convictions

Lively had previously pled guilty in 1986 in Anne Arundel County to the second-degree murder of Eleanor Williams. He served eight years of a 20-year sentence. 

He was released and later pleaded guilty to the second-degree Murder of Willy Mae Arrington in North Carolina in 2000. He was sentenced to 30 years in that case and served approximately 12 years before being paroled again.