He is due back in court March 12 for sentencing. His attorney, Ben Swift, released a statement to the Dayton Daily News.
“Mr. Taylor wanted to bring closure to this matter for the victim’s families and ensure that he would be released from prison instead of being subjected to a possible life sentence. This plea assures that he will be released in the future,” he said.
Taylor was charged in the death of 53-year-old Ronda Neal, who died Oct. 22, 2019, of post-traumatic tracheal stenosis due to multiple stab wounds, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
The prosecutor’s office said Neal suffered those injuries Dec. 28, 2018, at the Barclay Square Condominiums in Miami Twp., where she and another woman were stabbed. Neither victim lived at the condo complex.
“The women had been inside a vehicle when the defendant stabbed both of them from the rear seat of the vehicle,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release. “The victims were able to identify the defendant as the person who attacked them.”
Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Greg Flannagan said in a statement, “We believe the plea was an appropriate resolution to the case, and it was approved by the deceased victim’s family, the surviving victim and the investigating police officer.”
The office declined further comment, noting that the case is ongoing until he is sentenced.
In exchange for the plea, a charge of murder and other felonious assault counts were dismissed.
Taylor remains in the Montgomery County Jail. Court records show a $75,000 bond was imposed the same day the involuntary manslaughter plea was signed.
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