Russell Funnie-Penn, 21, died on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, a day after he was stabbed in the 1300 block of North Patterson Park Avenue. The Baltimore Police Department investigated, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists his death as a homicide.
According to the Sun's notes, he was stabbed on Monday, September 17, 2018, at about 2:15 p.m., and the date in the database reflects the day he died. A Baltimore police update identified him as a resident of the 200 block of Highfalcon Road and said he was killed in the 1300 block of North Patterson Park Avenue. A volunteer-run list of the city's 2018 homicides placed the stabbing near the 2200 block of Biddle Street, which sits close to that stretch of Patterson Park Avenue. Beyond the time and the place, no public account describes what led to the attack, whether he knew the person who stabbed him, or whether anyone saw it happen.
His obituary, published by the Joseph H. Brown Jr.
Funeral Home, gives a much fuller picture of the young man. He was born on April 30, 1997, in Baltimore, the son of Malik Muhammad and Joscelyn Funnie. He went to Franklin High School in Reisterstown, "where he played football and was on the traveling varsity basketball team." After earning his GED, he enrolled at Fortis to study medical front office administration. He worked as a lifeguard, in fast food and, most recently, "as a security guard at M&T Bank stadium." Over his 21 years he lived in Maryland, Arizona and Georgia.
The obituary remembered him as someone who "had a personality that attracted people of all ages." It said, "It wasn't quite right if Russell wasn't bringing friends home to visit, eat, play or stay over for a month or two," and added that "If he was your friend, he would go to the end of the earth for you and he made sure that his entire family did the same." He left behind his parents, his siblings, a partner the obituary called his "soul mate," two young sons, grandparents, a great-grandmother and many other relatives and friends.
North Patterson Park Avenue runs north from the park that gives it its name, through blocks of East Baltimore rowhouses. The 1300 block lies a short distance north of the park and Biddle Street crosses the avenue nearby.
After the unrest of 2015, Baltimore recorded more than 300 homicides a year for eight straight years, and the share of killings that ended in an arrest fell sharply.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Russell Funnie-Penn could be found in news archives or public records. More than eight years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who was near North Patterson Park Avenue or Biddle Street on the afternoon of September 17, 2018, or who heard talk afterward about why a 21-year-old father was stabbed there, may hold the piece that detectives still need. 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).
