MILLINGTON, Md. - The Queen Anne's County State's Attorney's Office says on April 23 of this year, Brian Joseph Sykes was sentenced to 40 years in prison for murder and a consecutive 5 years for auto theft, with 10 years suspended. They say the Millington man was indicted by a grand jury on March 14, 2025 for the October 11, 2024 homicide of David Howard Teat. On April 7, 2026, Sykes entered a guilty plea to Second Degree Murder and Motor Vehicle Theft.
Brian Joseph Sykes, Courtesy of the Queen Anne's County State's Attorney's Office
Officials say Sykes will serve 35 years in the Maryland Division of Corrections. When he is released, he will be on five years of supervised probation.
The case began on October 11, 2024 when sheriff's deputies were called to a home on Pfalzgroff Road in Millington. A friend of David Howard Teat had found him laying in a puddle of blood inside the home and called 911. Upon entering the home, deputies found Teat deceased with a large knife impaled through his neck.
The 911 caller told police that he and Teat had been texting that day about Teat meeting up with Sykes, his stepson and tenant at the home on Pfalzgroff Road. The caller said he was worried about the meeting as Teat was attempting to evict Sykes from the property due to his failure to pay the rent and drug use.
The caller went on to tell police that Sykes was also angry at Teat because his mother, Teat's wife, had recently passed away in a nursing home and there had been a delay in telling Sykes that she had died. Additionally, Sykes blamed his stepfather for calling Animal Control to seize his pet cats.
During the investigation, police say they learned that Teat's vehicle and attached trailer were missing from the driveway, but Sykes' car had been left behind. A lookout for Teat's vehicle and trailer was placed in the law enforcement nationwide database. Upon searching the house, police found several pieces of evidence, such as bloodstained jeans and a kitchen bowl with a visible, bloody fingerprint.
Upon autopsy, Teat's death was ruled a homicide as a result of 29 stab wounds to his neck, torso, and upper extremities. Officials say the autopsy also revealed that Teat's wounds were defensive, as he had tried to protect himself from the attack.
Two days after the murder, detectives found Teat's trailer and cellphone at an address in Dover, DE where Sykes' girlfriend had been staying. The owner of the property and the girlfriend were both interviewed and stated they had last seen Mr. Sykes on the morning of October 11, 2024. Detectives were contacted by officers with the Philadelphia, PA Police Department who informed them that Sykes had been found in Teat's truck and was now in custody.
After obtaining Sykes' DNA, investigators say they were able to confirm the bloody fingerprint on the bowl belonged to him. DNA found on the knife belonged to both Teat and Sykes, and the blood on the blue jeans was matched to Teat while the jeans themselves belonged to Sykes.
Sykes' girlfriend was interviewed again before the trial and police say she told them that she had received a call from Sykes after he was arrested in Philadelphia. She said that during the call, Sykes told her he had killed Teat in anger over his mother and the loss of his cats.
