An Oakland County man was sentenced Wednesday to serve 17-50 years in prison after he was convicted for the murder of a teenage mother who he shot in the head and dumped on Interstate 94 in St. Clair Shores.
Nathaniel Taylor, 22, of Southfield, last month entered a no contest plea to second-degree murder charges for the death of Taya Land, 17. He also was charged with felony firearm, which carries a mandatory two-year prison term that will be served consecutively.
Taylor met the victim on Oct. 14, 2022 on an app, and there was an agreement Taylor would provide her marijuana for sex, according to police and prosecutors. After Taylor picked her up in his vehicle, the two had an argument while driving and Taylor pushed Land out of the vehicle, then shot her three times in the head with a 9mm firearm.
The victim’s mother, Cecellia Land, two sisters and an aunt gave emotional statements in court about their loss.
Cecellia Land wept while saying her daughter was survived by a 1-year-old daughter who doesn’t understand why her mother is gone.
“She is too young to know or understand anything,” she said. The girls asks her to call her mother on the phone, and Cecelia has to tell her, “You can’t talk to her in that way. The look of confusion and sadness on her face breaks my heart,” she said.
Taya Land’s brothers have had difficulty in dealing with their sister’s death.
“They were very close to her and they had to get counseling because of it,” she said.
The victim’s sister, Daja Taylor, noted Taylor killed Land over sex, and perhaps Land refusing to perform the way he wanted.
“A real player would’ve dropped her off at home,” she said. “Why did you dump her off like a piece of trash?”
She said Taylor should serve life in prison “because you took a life away.”
After the sentencing, the family said they weren’t surprised Taylor did not speak in court.
“There was no remorse,” Cecelia Land said.
Taylor’s attorney, Joe Kosmala, told the judge Taylor’s actions appeared to be outside of his character as he had no prior criminal record.
“He’s a soft-spoken, articulate young man,” he said. “How this occurred is inexplicable to me.”
Macomb County Circuit Court Chief Judge James Biernat Jr. said the incident “doesn’t make sense to anyone. It’s a mystery to me why you would take away someone’s life and throw away yours,” he said.
The guideline range was higher than Taylor expected when he entered a sentencing agreement. Biernat denied his request to withdraw his plea and force a trial.
“This sentence ensures the defendant is held accountable for this senseless loss of life,” county Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement. “I hope this will bring some closure to the family who have suffered a great tragedy.”
The judge gave Taylor zero days credit for the fatal shooting, but did allow him 574 days credit for the firearm charge. Taylor also must pay Cecillia Land $3,300 in restitution.
Based on GPS records and video surveillance, police theorized Taylor traveled from his residence in Southfield to pick up Land at her home in Detroit at 3:20 a.m. and then drove around in a Chevy Equinox for a few minutes before getting on eastbound I-94 near Eight Mile Road, near where her body was found. Authorities said data from Taylor’s cellphone showed he stopped on I-94 for three to four minutes before continuing to travel down the freeway, MSP reported.