Johanna Metzger, 25, whom police and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database identified as Joseph Metzger, was stabbed in the 2200 block of Highview Avenue in Northeast Baltimore early on Saturday, April 11, 2020, and died of her injuries. The Baltimore Police Department investigated, and the Sun's database lists her death as a homicide caused by stabbing.
Officers were called to the block at about 12:25 a.m. for a report of a stabbing.
They found the victim with at least one stab wound, and she was taken to a hospital, where she died. Police identified her as a 25-year-old from Philadelphia. Fox45 later reported that Metzger "was a transgender woman whose name was Johanna," and that police said someone had fatally stabbed her "during an attempted robbery on Highview Avenue."
Her obituary, published by a funeral home, said she died "suddenly on April 11, 2020 (Victim of homicide)." It listed her as the child of Christine and Thomas Marro and the sister of Alexandria Marro and Kathrynann Rotter. Relatives and friends were invited to watch her funeral service by live stream on April 20, 2020, in the early weeks of the pandemic, and the family asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her name to the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia.
Her mother, Christine Marrow, spoke with Fox45 about the long wait for an arrest. "Deep pain," she said, "and I feel it just never goes away." She described how her hope had faded over time. "I was confident in the beginning," she said, adding, "I'm not confident anymore." She also said, "I feel like it's just a cold case, and it's not going to go anywhere." When Fox45 returned to the case more than two years after the killing, the station reported that no arrests had been made.
Highview Avenue is a residential street in Northeast Baltimore, in a part of the city made up largely of homes and neighborhood streets. Police did not say publicly why Metzger, who lived in Philadelphia, was in Baltimore that night, or whether she knew anyone on the block.
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.
The killing came in the first weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown, when streets across the city were quieter than usual and fewer people were out late at night. That may have meant fewer witnesses, but it may also mean that anyone who was outside on Highview Avenue after midnight would remember it. The attempted robbery described by police suggests that the person responsible may have approached her looking for money or property, and someone may later have heard that person talk about it.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Johanna Metzger, recorded as Joseph Metzger, could be found in news archives or public records. More than six years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Highview Avenue in Northeast Baltimore in April 2020, or who heard someone speak about a robbery or stabbing there, may hold the detail detectives need. Tips can also be sent by text to 443-902-4824. 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).
