diff --git a/spec/decoration-manager-spec.coffee b/spec/decoration-manager-spec.coffee
index 44da440d9..908f78f36 100644
--- a/spec/decoration-manager-spec.coffee
+++ b/spec/decoration-manager-spec.coffee
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 DecorationManager = require '../src/decoration-manager'
 
 describe "DecorationManager", ->
-  [decorationManager, buffer, defaultMarkerLayer] = []
+  [decorationManager, buffer, defaultMarkerLayer, displayLayer] = []
 
   beforeEach ->
     buffer = atom.project.bufferForPathSync('sample.js')
@@ -45,6 +45,13 @@ describe "DecorationManager", ->
       ).toThrow("Cannot decorate a destroyed marker")
       expect(decorationManager.getOverlayDecorations()).toEqual []
 
+    it "does not allow destroyed marker layers to be decorated", ->
+      layer = displayLayer.addMarkerLayer()
+      layer.destroy()
+      expect(->
+        decorationManager.decorateMarkerLayer(layer, {type: 'highlight'})
+      ).toThrow("Cannot decorate a destroyed marker layer")
+
     describe "when a decoration is updated via Decoration::update()", ->
       it "emits an 'updated' event containing the new and old params", ->
         decoration.onDidChangeProperties updatedSpy = jasmine.createSpy()
diff --git a/src/decoration-manager.coffee b/src/decoration-manager.coffee
index e1096f572..fefa368d4 100644
--- a/src/decoration-manager.coffee
+++ b/src/decoration-manager.coffee
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ class DecorationManager extends Model
     decoration
 
   decorateMarkerLayer: (markerLayer, decorationParams) ->
+    throw new Error("Cannot decorate a destroyed marker layer") if markerLayer.isDestroyed()
     decoration = new LayerDecoration(markerLayer, this, decorationParams)
     @layerDecorationsByMarkerLayerId[markerLayer.id] ?= []
     @layerDecorationsByMarkerLayerId[markerLayer.id].push(decoration)