Brendon Thomas Michaels, 43, was found beaten to death inside his apartment in the 1200 block of Saint Paul Street in Baltimore on Thursday, November 8, 2018. The Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists his death under Friday, November 9, 2018, the day an autopsy ruled it a homicide. He died of blunt force injuries. The Baltimore Police Department investigated.
Police said a concerned coworker raised the alarm when Michaels did not show up for work.
"The victim was found inside at this location after a concerned coworker hadn't heard from the victim in a while, but the individual called police and the Fire Department went in, and that's when they found the victim inside," Baltimore police Detective Jeremy Silbert told WBAL. Central District officers had been sent at 12:49 p.m. to investigate a suspicious death. "An autopsy was performed, and the manner of death was ruled to be a homicide by blunt force trauma," Silbert said.
Michaels grew up in Westminster in Carroll County. He graduated from Carroll Community College in 1998, worked there for more than 20 years, became coordinator of its fitness center in 2008 and was certified as a personal trainer in 2014. College President James D. Ball said, "Brendon was a vibrant and well respected member of the College community for over 20 years. He was high energy, passionate about fitness and always willing to help anyone in need." The college created a fund in his memory. His obituary called him "the sparkle in the life of everyone who knew him." News reports noted that he also worked as a waiter and had won $50,000 in a Maryland Lottery game in 2011. The Washington Blade and the NYC Anti-Violence Project, which mourned him as a gay man killed in his home, both shared the police tip line.
Police said they had very little to go on. Silbert said detectives would examine security video from the block and urged anyone in the neighborhood who noticed anything suspicious to call. The Sun reported that investigators had not identified a possible motive, and Silbert told the Blade that no arrests had been made. A neighbor who did not know him told Fox Baltimore, "It's disturbing that it may have been in someone's home."
The 1200 block of Saint Paul Street sits in Midtown Baltimore, near East Biddle Street and a few blocks south of Penn Station, at the edge of the Mount Vernon neighborhood. It is a dense area of apartment buildings and converted rowhouses, with steady foot traffic from residents, students and commuters.
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 Brendon Michaels could be found in news archives or public records. More than seven years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who visited his building on Saint Paul Street in early November 2018, saw someone entering or leaving his apartment, or knew of anyone he planned to meet in those days may hold an important detail. Tips can also be sent by text to the police tip line at 443-902-4824. 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).
