A man who was convicted of murdering his father was sentenced to 50 years in prison, the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Matthew Vaise was found guilty of second degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence for the 2015 murder of his father, Stephen Vaise.
Prosecutors say in the early morning hours of Jan. 27, 2015, Matthew shot and killed Stephen using a Hi Point 9mm rifle Matthew owned.
On Jan. 29, 2015, Anne Arundel County Police responded to a reported robbery in the 200 block of W. Riverview Road in Baltimore, where Stephen's brother Thomas lived. Thomas said his home was broken into by Matthew. During the investigation, Thomas said the last time he had seen his brother was three days prior. On that day, Matthew and Stephen had been in an argument.
Police questioned Matthew about where his father was, and Matthew said he hadn't seen Stephen since Jan. 26, 2015.
Anne Arundel County Police and Baltimore City Police then went to Stephen's residence in the 4400 block of Prudence Street, where he was found dead from a gunshot wound.
Matthew provided conflicting statements about his father's murder. Subsequent search warrants produced the dismantled rifle in Matthew's room. Ballistics tests showed it was the gun used to murder Stephen.
Matthew utilized a forensic psychiatrist to argue he was not responsible for his father's death. After a two-and-a-half year battle with their own expert analysis, the State's Attorney's Office prevailed in the case.
