David Harcum was 67 years old when he was stabbed to death in the 3900 block of Norfolk Avenue in Baltimore on Monday, December 13, 2021. The Baltimore Police Department investigated his death, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists it as a homicide.
According to the Baltimore Witness, police were called to the 3900 block of Norfolk Avenue "shortly after 5 p.m." that Monday and found a man, later identified as Harcum, "lying on the sidewalk." Medics arrived to treat him.
He "had multiple stab wounds," the Witness reported, and medics "soon pronounced him dead at the scene." WMAR's daily tracker of the city's violence listed the time as 5:09 p.m. and recorded simply that "David Harcum, 67, was found stabbed to death in the 3900 block of Norfolk Avenue." Homicide detectives asked anyone with information to call them or Metro Crime Stoppers.
That is nearly all that has been made public. The reports do not say whether Harcum lived on the block or was passing through, whether he was attacked during an argument or a robbery, or whether he knew the person who stabbed him. They do not say whether anyone saw the attack or whether investigators identified a suspect. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser for him could be found in the research for this story. At 67, he had lived a long life in which he surely had family, friends and neighbors who remember him, but none of their memories have entered the public record.
A man in his late sixties was found bleeding on a public sidewalk in the early evening, which suggests that neighbors or people coming home may have been nearby. The 3900 block of Norfolk Avenue sits in the 21216 ZIP code on Baltimore's west side, an area of rowhouses and residential streets.
WYPR later read his name aloud, along with the names of others killed in the city that December, in its "Names of Baltimore's Fallen" remembrance. Beyond that brief mention, his name has rarely appeared in public since the evening he died.
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 David Harcum could be found in news archives or public records. A volunteer list of 2021 Baltimore homicides that tracks arrests records "None" beside his name. More than four years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who was on or near Norfolk Avenue in December 2021, who saw a person leaving the block around 5 p.m. that Monday, or who heard talk about the stabbing afterward, may know something that could help. 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).
