Ronald Davis was 50 years old when he was stabbed in the 1400 block of North Aisquith Street in Baltimore on Friday, April 8, 2016. The Baltimore Police Department investigated his death, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists it as a homicide caused by stabbing.
Beyond his name, his age and the block where he was found, almost nothing about Ronald Davis 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.
Ronald Davis is a very common name, and searches for it turn up lawyers, professors, a father in Chicago, and obituaries for many older men in Maryland and elsewhere, none of whom can be connected to this case. That crowd of namesakes may be one reason the death of a 50-year-old man on North Aisquith Street drew so little lasting attention. It also means that anyone trying to learn more about him today would need the help of people who actually knew him: relatives, neighbors, coworkers or friends from the blocks where he lived.
North Aisquith Street is a long street that runs north and south through the city, with homes, churches and small businesses along its length. On any given day, people pass through on foot, by car and by bus, and a stabbing there may have been noticed by someone who was never asked what they saw.
The Sun's database lists the date of his death as April 8, 2016, but the public record does not say whether that was also the day he was attacked or whether he was found on the street or inside a home. Those basic facts are known to detectives, and they are the kind of details that could jog the memory of someone who was nearby that spring.
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 Ronald Davis could be found in news archives or public records. More than ten years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near North Aisquith Street in April 2016, or who knew a 50-year-old man named Ronald Davis who died that spring, may hold a piece of the story 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).
