PRINCESS MOTHER, MD. – A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a Princess Anne man in 2023.

On January 12, 2023, 27-year-old Dequan Fields was reported missing to Maryland State Police Princess Anne Barrack. Police found Fields’ 2004 gold Dodge Durango at the Deal Island Wildlife Refuge shortly after she was reported missing. Detectives found blood in the vehicle, which was determined to match Fields’ DNA.

Further investigation through detailed analysis of surveillance footage and phone records showed contact between William Pruitt and a phone number related to Fields between the night before and the morning of her disappearance. Cell tower analysis reportedly showed that the phones traveled together from a location in Princess Anne to Marion Station, where the phones were turned off.

Pruitt was arrested on an unrelated matter and reportedly made statements linking him to the Fields robbery and murder. Pruitt’s statements led investigators to find human remains and clothing that matched the last outfit Fields wore before she disappeared. DNA tests matched the clothing to Fields’ DNA.

Pruitt pleaded guilty to first-degree murder earlier this week and was sentenced to life in prison.