A Curtis Bay man abruptly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Thursday, four days into his jury trial, admitting he killed Sarah Elizabeth Bundy, the mother of his child, whose body was found wrapped in tires in a Brooklyn Park alley last year. Cedric Dion Callaway, 51, entered the plea before Circuit Court Judge Christine Celeste, ending a trial that had been steadily dismantling his account that the couple was robbed the night Bundy disappeared.
Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess called it a “surprise plea” that came after prosecutors built a strong case at trial, according to the Office of the State's Attorney for Anne Arundel County. Leitess noted that Bundy, 44, was the mother of Callaway's child, underscoring the domestic ties at the center of the case. Sentencing is scheduled for September 15, and under Maryland Criminal Law Code § 2-201, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, with or without the possibility of parole, since the state abolished capital punishment in 2013, per FindLaw.
How the Case Against Callaway Fell Apart
The case dates back to May 2025, when Callaway initially told investigators that he and Bundy had been robbed in the area near where her body was later found, and that he had been pistol-whipped before fleeing on foot and leaving her behind, as WMAR-2 News reported. He even told detectives he would kill himself if he were charged with murder. But Callaway showed no injuries consistent with being pistol-whipped, and detectives had not yet told him that Bundy was dead when he made some of these claims, according to the station's report.
Surveillance footage from a laundromat at 716 Church Street told a different story. The state's attorney's office says the video captured Callaway and Bundy together until roughly 12:15 a.m. on May 23, 2025, after which Callaway returned alone at 1:30 a.m. carrying Bundy's crossbody bag and discarding a jacket in an outdoor trash bin. Detectives determined Callaway matched the description of the man seen entering the alley with Bundy, and reviewed additional surveillance footage from the surrounding area to build their timeline, per the same account.
Blood Evidence and a Discarded Weapon
Baltimore Police detained Callaway on an unrelated matter and noticed blood stains on his hands and under his fingernails, according to Report Annapolis News. Callaway later directed police to items near Church Street and Muriel Avenue, including a wallet, clothing, and a bloody metal pipe. A witness reported hearing a female voice shouting something like “I love you, don't hurt me,” according to charging documents cited by the outlet.
Anne Arundel County Police had responded to the intersection of Alley 79 and Disney Avenue after a woman's body was discovered covered with tires, according to charging documents. Police identified the body as Bundy's through her tattoos, and findings indicated she sustained significant trauma to her head, face, and neck. Her body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for a formal autopsy, per the state's attorney's office.
Neighborhood Context and a Family Left Behind
The alley where Bundy's body was found sits in Brooklyn Park, an unincorporated community in northern Anne Arundel County bordering Baltimore City that has seen prior police activity, including a November 2020 shots-fired investigation on the same block, according to Anne Arundel County Government records. On the day Bundy disappeared, social workers and police responded to her home for a child neglect check after finding her young child alone; the child said both parents had left the previous night and had not returned, Report Annapolis News reported.
Detectives eventually brought Callaway to the county's Criminal Investigation Division office for a formal interview, where the case against him continued to build. Court records show the case was docketed as State of Maryland v. Cedric Dion Callaway under case number C-02-CR-25-000972 in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County on June 20, 2025. Assistant State's Attorney Katherine D. Anthony led the prosecution at trial on behalf of the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office, following an investigation by the county police homicide unit.
Hoodline previously reported on the initial charges filed against Callaway last year following the discovery of Bundy's body. With the guilty plea now entered, attention turns to Callaway's September 15 sentencing, where Judge Celeste will decide between life with or without the possibility of parole.
