David Reese, 18, was stabbed to death on Saturday, August 1, 2009, in the 300 block of North Paca Street in Baltimore. The Baltimore Police Department investigated, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists his death as a homicide.
Beyond his name, his age and the block where he was found, almost nothing about David Reese has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death in detail. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone he knew, or hurt indoors or on the street.
It does not say what time of day it happened, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
David Reese is a fairly common name, and searches for it turn up athletes, executives and many other unrelated men, which makes it hard to find anything written about this particular young man. At 18, he had only just reached adulthood, and he may have been only a year or two out of school. Classmates, teachers, coaches or neighbors from those years may still remember him, and some of them may have heard talk about what happened to him.
North Paca Street runs through the west side of downtown Baltimore, a short walk from Lexington Market, one of the oldest public markets in the country. The area draws steady foot traffic from shoppers, bus riders and people heading to and from nearby offices and campuses, and on a summer Saturday its sidewalks were likely busy. That makes it possible that someone saw or heard something that day, even if they never came forward. The database does not say whether Reese lived nearby or had come downtown for another reason.
Baltimore recorded roughly 200 to 280 homicides a year between 2007 and 2014, one of the highest rates of any large American city, and many of those killings were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of David Reese could be found in news archives or public records. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near the 300 block of North Paca Street or Lexington Market at the start of August 2009, or who knew David Reese and the people he spent time with that summer, may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call Baltimore Police homicide detectives at 410-396-2100, or leave an anonymous tip with Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland at 1-866-7LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587).
