David Jones was 21 years old when he was stabbed to death on Saturday, January 1, 2011, in the 1500 block of Hazel Street in Baltimore. The Baltimore Police Department investigated the death, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists it as a homicide. His death came on New Year's Day, the first day of the year.
The Sun's notes on the case add one detail. They say Jones was "one of two men stabbed," and that the "surviving victim was 27 years old."
That means at least one other person was wounded in the same attack and lived. The notes do not name the second man or describe his injuries, and they do not say whether the two men knew each other, whether they were attacked together or one after the other, or what led to the violence. A surviving victim is often an important witness, but the record does not say whether he was able or willing to help investigators.
Beyond his name, his age and the block where he was found, almost nothing about David Jones 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. David Jones is one of the most common names in the country, and searches for him return mostly other people, including a longtime Baltimore police detective, a seventeenth century settler and men in other states, which makes the young man killed on Hazel Street harder to find.
Because so little has been released, many basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether the stabbing happened during a fight, a robbery or a New Year's gathering, whether it took place indoors or on the street, or what time of day it happened. It does not say whether Jones died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
New Year's Eve and the early hours of New Year's Day are among the busiest nights of the year in any city, with parties, fireworks and people out late visiting friends and family. Anyone on Hazel Street that night may have seen people coming and going, heard an argument or noticed someone leaving in a hurry, even if they did not realize at the time what they had witnessed.
The 1500 block of Hazel Street is the place the Sun's database gives for the stabbing. Like many Baltimore blocks, it is the kind of place where neighbors tend to notice unfamiliar faces and remember unusual nights.
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 Jones could be found in news archives or public records. More than 15 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Hazel Street on New Year's Eve 2010 or New Year's Day 2011, including anyone who knows the man who survived the attack, may hold information that matters. 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).
