Murder victims left to right: Leilani Marroquin and Marcell Hebron
Convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, a defendant was sentenced to 120 years in prison in Circuit Court on Monday.
Charges
Convicted in April, Kaloyan Stoev, 27, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and two counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited.
Victims
26-year-old Marcell Hebron and 27-year-old Leilani Marroquin were murdered in the early hours of Friday, January 17, 2025. Hebron’s body was discovered by a county police officer. He was behind the wheel of a disabled white BMW at the intersection of Shady Grove Road and Research Boulevard in Rockville. Later that morning City of Rockville police responded to a report concerning a dead person in the parking lot of a hotel at 2 Research Blvd. There they located Marroquin’s body.
The Crime
After an investigation by county homicide detectives, it was determined that Stoev was in the back seat of the BMW prior to the murders. The car was parked at 2 Research Boulevard. Hebron was in the driver’s seat and Marroquin was in the passenger seat. Stoev opened fire on Hebron with two handguns. He shot Hebron 27 times from both inside and outside the vehicle. As Marroquin attempted to flee, Stoev shot her 5 times. She fell to the ground where she was later found dead.
Stoev then sat on top of Hebron’s body and drove the car to Shady Grove at Research Boulevard. When the car stopped running, Stoev ran back to the hotel where police arrested him.
State’s Attorney Statement
John McCarthy, County State’s Attorney gave the following statement after Stoev was convicted in April:
“The senseless and violent loss of the victims has left two families in our community devastated. We express our deepest, heartfelt condolences to them. With this conviction, the defendant faces a potential sentence of 150 years in prison, which would ensure he is no longer a threat to public safety.”
