Tarvis Briscoe, 42, was stabbed to death on Wednesday, May 7, 2014, in the 2100 block of Garrison Boulevard in Baltimore. The Baltimore Police Department investigated the killing, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists his death as a homicide.
The first report of his death was brief and partly wrong. WBAL-TV said police were called to the 2100 block of Garrison Boulevard at 11:58 p.m. that Wednesday and described the case as a shooting that "remains under investigation."
Later coverage made clear that he had been stabbed. The Baltimore Sun reported that Briscoe "was stabbed 35 times in May 2014." A list of the city's 2014 homicides noted that the victim "may have been a bail agent," and the ABA Journal later described him as a bail bondsman.
The case did reach a courtroom. A suspect was charged with murder in his death and went to trial in Baltimore City Circuit Court in 2015. The trial ended in a mistrial after the presiding judge clashed with the defense lawyer, an episode that drew wide attention in the legal community. When a new judge took over the case, the defense argued that the defendant could not be tried a second time, and on July 28, 2015, the judge agreed and dismissed the murder charge on double jeopardy grounds. Prosecutors at first appealed, but in February 2016 The Daily Record reported that they had dropped the appeal. The case against the only person ever charged was over, and no verdict was ever reached on what happened to Tarvis Briscoe.
That outcome left his family without the answer a trial is meant to give. Because the charge was dismissed rather than decided by a jury, the public record never settled who stabbed him, why, or whether anyone else was involved. Nothing found since suggests that anyone else has been charged.
Garrison Boulevard runs through northwest Baltimore, a long, busy road lined largely with rowhouses. Late on a weeknight, the people on the 2100 block would have included residents at home, people walking to and from bus stops, and drivers passing by. Any of them may have seen something just before midnight on May 7.
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 conviction connected to the death of Tarvis Briscoe could be found in news archives or public records, and the only criminal case brought in his killing was dismissed. More than 12 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near the 2100 block of Garrison Boulevard in May 2014, or who knew Tarvis Briscoe through his work or his neighborhood, may know something that could still matter. 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).
