Baltimore ‘Serial Killer’ Stabbed Casino Winner 88 Times
Posted on: November 18, 2025, 04:22h.
Last updated on: November 18, 2025, 04:22h.
- Reginald Lively gets life without parole for murdering neighbor.
- Victim John Hall III stabbed 88 times after casino win.
- Convicted killer previously served time for two similar murders.
A Baltimore man who bludgeoned and stabbed a casino-goer 88 times was described by prosecutors as a “serial killer” as he was sentenced to die in prison.
Reginald Lively, 68, will serve life without the possibility of parole for the May 2021 murder of John Hall III, 68 – a man who lived in his apartment block who had recently won $1K at a local casino.
Third Murder
Hall was Lively’s third murder victim. In 1986, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection to the death of Eleanor Williams, an Annapolis, Md. woman who was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death in May 1983.
Hall went on the run and was eventually arrested by the FBI in North Carolina, according to contemporary news reports. He served eight years of a 20-year sentence for the crime.
In 2000, he pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of another woman in North Carolina, Willy Mae Arrington. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison, serving around 12 years before being paroled again.
This is a serial killer, and this gentleman needs to be off the streets,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said in a statement. “This violent offender should never have been allowed to walk free.”
Horrific Scene
On May 28, 2021, Baltimore police responded to a call after a maintenance worker found Hall “bloody and unresponsive,” covered in a blanket in his apartment. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The medical examiner later determined he had suffered at least 17 blunt-force trauma injuries and a total of 88 sharp-force trauma injuries. His death was ruled a homicide.
Detectives soon learned about Hall’s casino windfall but could find no cash at the scene. They also learned the deceased had previously complained about Lively taking money from his apartment.
Suspicious Behavior
Lively was caught by the apartment block’s security camera acting suspiciously, prosecutors argued. He was seen getting out of an elevator with a plastic bag containing an unknown object that appeared to be covered in a red substance. Meanwhile, DNA analysis showed that Lively had recently been inside Hall’s apartment.
“We don’t have a strong motive other than there was money missing from his apartment,” Cold Case Unit Chief Kurt Bjorklund told WBAL. “Completely pointless killing. We were able to give a measure of justice to John’s family.”
Lively first claimed he hadn’t killed Hall, insisting he was asleep when the murder occurred. He later admitted to the crime after investigators presented him with still images from the scene.
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