St. Mary’s County Jury Convicts Great Mills Woman in Dismemberment Murder
LEONARDTOWN, MD (March 7, 2024) – State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced today that following an eight-day trial, a St. Mary’s County jury convicted Michelina Desiree Goodwin, 46, of Great Mills, Maryland of murder in the second-degree, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and the unauthorized disposal of a body in reference to the homicide and dismemberment of a 50-year-old male victim.
On December 21, 2022, the victim’s family reported him missing and noted their last contact with him was on December 7, 2022. Several weeks later, the case developed into a homicide investigation. Goodwin was identified as the primary suspect.
On January 18, 2023, Goodwin told investigators that during an altercation at her residence, she retrieved a firearm that accidentally discharged and killed the victim, who also resided there. Goodwin admitted she dismembered the victim’s body post-mortem and led investigators to his remains in remote areas of St. Mary’s and Charles Counties.
“This horrifying crime shocked the community and caused unimaginable pain to the victim’s family,” said State’s Attorney Sterling. “Over eight days, the victim’s family and the jury heard the graphic circumstances surrounding the victim’s final moments and gruesome post-mortem mutilation. The Defendant’s gutless decisions deprived the family of a proper burial.”
Goodwin faces a maximum penalty of 61 years in prison. She will remain held without bond pending the sentencing hearing.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorneys Donna C. Pettersen and Jeffrey R. Maylor prosecuted the case on behalf of the citizens of St. Mary’s County.
Sergeant Roger Schwarb of the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit and Trooper First Class Evan Ruggles of the Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division were the lead investigators.
The Honorable Terrence J. McGann presided over the case.
MURDER USA DISMEMBERMENT – POLICE SAY THE BODY OF A DRUG DEALER WAS FOUND IN TWO COUNTIES. TWO CHARGED WITH MURDER
Goodwin trial results pending…
UPDATE: The trial for Goodwin is pending.
BODY WAS FOUND IN CHARLES & ST. MARY’S – THE PROSECUTORS MIGHT HAVE TO FLIP FOR THE TRIAL RIGHTS…
GREAT MILLS, MD – A man who has been missing for several weeks has now appeared, according to police, in two counties, and two people have been charged with his murder. The Maryland State Police report that after consulting with St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling, first-degree murder charges have been placed against them for the death of James Volodimir Nalborczyk, a convicted drug dealer. A lookout for Nalborczyk was posted on December 29, 2022, by the Maryland State Police, who said that the man may be suffering from a medical emergency and was missing.
On January 19, 2023, the Maryland State Police reported that Nalborczyk’s body had been discovered in both St. Mary’s and Charles counties, indicating that the man had been dismembered. Both of Great Mills, Maryland, the accused are identified as Michelina Desiree Goodwin, 45, and Larry Joseph Murphy, 40. Goodwin and Murphy are being held without bond at the St. Mary’s County Detention Center.
After consultation with the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, Goodwin was arrested at approximately 3:00 a.m. on January 19, 2023, without incident. She is charged with first- and second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence, and improper disposal of a human body.
After consultation with the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, Murphy was arrested yesterday at 10:00 p.m. without incident. He is charged with first- and second-degree murder, accessory after the fact of murder-first degree, and improper disposal of a human body.
The victim is James Volodimir Nalborczyk, 50, of Great Mills, Maryland. The victim’s body was found in remote areas of Charles County and St. Mary’s County, and police say he has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
POLICE LEARNED OF FOUL PLAY
Nalborczyk was reported missing by family members to the Maryland State Police on December 21, 2022. Information gleaned throughout the investigation determined there had been foul play involved in the disappearance of Nalborczyk, a man first considered a missing person.
While police report that the now-found victim is from Great Mills, Md., a recent traffic citation shows that he lived at 1525 Dotties Lane in Waldorf, Md. The ticket issued to him by Maryland State Trooper Wilhite for speeding near the Hollywood Rescue Squad on September 25, 2022, resulted in the citation put on the Stet Docket on November 29, 2022.
VICTIM CONVICTED OF DRUG DEALING
A half dozen drug-related arrests against Nalborczyk in 2013 were placed on the Stet Docket in Calvert County. A Calvert County Grand Jury issued a misdemeanor drug distribution count against him on July 20, 2015, which resulted in him pleading guilty in a plea deal with Calvert County States Attorney Laura Martin in Circuit Court on February 12, 2016. THE DEAL: Nalborczyk was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and all but nine months of the sentence were suspended with credit given for 14 days of time served pending trial.
The accused dismembering team of Larry Joseph Murphy and Goodwin were charged on a statement of charges and will likely be indicted by the Grand Jury in the coming weeks.
Murphy, of 22123 St. Joseph’s Circle in Great Mills, was arrested by Maryland State Police Detective R. Schwarb of the Criminal Investigation Division for dumping a body in an unapproved location, as well as first and second-degree murder. Murphy is being held without bond pending an appearance before a Judge on January 20, 2023.
Murphy was convicted of second-degree assault on July 10, 2020, and when he pleaded guilty, he was given one day in the St. Mary’s County Jail during the peak of the Covid Pandemic. A bench warrant has been active for him since August 2, 2022, for violation of his probation.
When Murphy’s co-defendant in the alleged murder of Nalborczyk, Michelina Desiree Goodwin (DOB 12/29/1977), was charged by Trooper E. Ruggles with theft and credit card identity theft on December 30, 2022, Murphy posted her bail of $1,000 which District Court Commissioner Lisa Ridge had set. The St. Mary’s States Attorney then dropped the charges before District Court Judge Christy Holt Chesser on January 17, 2023. IN THIS CASE, James M. Farmer is listed on court records as representing Goodwin
When Murphy was found guilty by District Court Judge James Tanavage of assault in 2020, he was hauled back into court for violating the terms of his probation on October 27, 2022, and unlucky apparently for Nalborczyk, he was allowed by Judge Tanavage to remain free and out of jail.
Goodwin’s charges place her at the date of the murder on December 11, 2022. Court records on January 19, 2023, reveal that James Farmer might not be her attorney, and the taxpayers of Maryland may be on the hook to give her a free lawyer as she was found eligible for a public defender instead of a fighter like Farmer. A preliminary hearing is set for February 17, 2023.
