Hatboro salon owner charged with murdering man during dispute acted in self-defense, lawyer says

Lawyers for a Hatboro hair salon owner accused of murder in the shooting of a man who lived above his business said Thursday that he acted in self-defense, protecting himself from an out-of-control, aggressive instigator.

But Montgomery County prosecutors disputed that, saying Maurice Byrd Jr., 41, had a clear intent to harm Steven Strassburg on June 8 after Strassburg, who is white, called him a racial slur.

“The victim’s words were absolutely offensive and horrible,” Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman said at Byrd’s preliminary hearing. “But that doesn’t give anyone the reason or justification to kill someone.”

Relatives of the two men said Thursday that they had a history of altercations, and that the police had been called to intervene before.

Byrd’s attorney, James Lyons, implored District Judge Todd Stephens to dismiss the first-degree murder charge his client faces.

“His actions were justified. He was under attack,” Lyons said, adding that his client is a disabled Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “He was not in a position to get into a physical altercation with someone like that who was totally out of control.”

But Stephens was not swayed, and held the case over for a county judge.

Investigators were called to Razor Reese’s Salon, Byrd’s business on North York Road, about 6 p.m. on the day of the shooting. Hatboro Police Sgt. Brett Paul testified Thursday that when he arrived, Strassburg, 37, was lying on his back with gunshot wounds to his cheek and back. A card from his family and jar of candy bars, an early present for his June 11 birthday, were found near his body.

Strassburg was taken to Jefferson Abington Hospital, where he later was pronounced dead.

Byrd was also at the scene and was cooperative with police, admitting to Paul the shooting and showing him where he had left his 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun, according to testimony.

In a 911 call played during Thursday’s hearing, Byrd is heard telling a dispatcher that Strassburg “verbally assaulted” him and called him a “dirty n—” during an argument outside his shop. He asked the dispatcher to send an officer to come intervene.

Despite warnings from the dispatcher to stay away from Strassburg, Byrd walked back outside while on the call, according to evidence presented during the hearing. Strassburg can be heard saying “What are you gonna do? Are you gonna shoot me, n—?”

In response, a series of gunshots can be heard in quick succession, and Byrd tells the dispatcher he “just had to shoot him.” Surveillance video from a nearby nail salon captured portions of the shooting, showing Strassburg chasing Byrd, and then Byrd firing at him as he walks backward toward his salon.

Cauffman, the prosecutor, said that another video, from a camera within Byrd’s shop, recorded him telling Strassburg to “come inside,” during the argument before the 911 call. He also said, to himself, that he was going to shoot Strassburg, according to the prosecutor.

Those actions, Cauffman said, were an attempt to lure Strassburg into a conflict and clashed with his self-defense claim — Byrd could have stayed in his shop and waited for police to arrive, following the instructions from the 911 dispatcher, she said.

“His actions show his intent in this interaction,” she said. “He had a gun and he wanted to use it.”

Strassburg’s cousin, Lauren Wicker, said after Thursday’s hearing that he had told his family he was afraid of Byrd, and that Byrd had left threatening notes for him on his front door. The two men had argued in the past over a parking spot in the lot next to the salon, according to Wicker.

Before the shooting, Strassburg told relatives he wanted to move out of the apartment, Wicker said. She said he had called the police in the past, but that he thought that nothing had been done to address his concerns.

Hatboro police had responded to three verbal disputes between Byrd and Strassburg since December 2022, according to court documents, and had issued warnings to the men to avoid contact with each other.

“From what I see, this is two stubborn men who wouldn’t back down and negotiate,” Wicker said. “For this to happen over a parking spot was ridiculous.”

Byrd’s father, Maurice Byrd Sr., said that his son is a nonviolent person and a hardworking business owner.

“We are sorry that someone has lost his life, and we are here to support Maurice,” he said.

Byrd will be arraigned in Montgomery County Court in August.