Richard Ray was stabbed in the 5200 block of Fairlawn Avenue in Northwest Baltimore on Tuesday, September 25, 2007, and died a short time later. The Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists his age as 37, while a Baltimore Sun police blotter item published three days later gave it as 27. The Baltimore Police Department investigated his death, and the Sun's homicide database lists it as a homicide.
The Sun's police blotter, under the heading for the Northwestern District, reported that
police "identified Richard Ray, 27, of the 3700 block of Woodbine Ave." as "the man stabbed about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday during an argument with another man in the 5200 block of Fairlawn Ave." According to that item, "Ray died a short time later at Sinai Hospital."
The same blotter entry noted that a second man with the same surname, Keith Ray, 24, had been found shot to death in a wooded area off Wyman Park Drive on the same Tuesday. Police said it was unknown whether the two men were related. The blotter stated that "no arrest had been made in either homicide." No later report could be found saying whether the two deaths were connected.
The detail that Richard Ray was stabbed during an argument with another man suggests that his attacker was someone who was face to face with him that evening, and possibly someone he knew. The record does not say what the argument was about, whether anyone else was present, whether the other man was ever identified, or whether a weapon was recovered. The attack happened at about 6:30 in the evening, a time when people are often outside, coming home from work or sitting on porches, which means that someone nearby may have seen or heard part of the confrontation.
Beyond these few lines, almost nothing about Richard Ray's life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found. Richard Ray is also a fairly common name, and searches for it turn up many other people, none of whom appear to be the man who died that evening. His family and friends surely remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Fairlawn Avenue is a residential street in Northwest Baltimore, in the part of the city covered by the police department's Northwestern District. Ray lived only a short distance away, on Woodbine Avenue, which suggests he may have been in a part of the city he knew well when he was attacked.
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 Richard Ray could be found in news archives or public records. More than 19 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near the 5200 block of Fairlawn Avenue on the evening of September 25, 2007, or who knew of an argument involving Richard Ray around that time, may know something that could help detectives.
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).
