Anthony Barksdale was 63 years old when he was taken to a hospital, unresponsive, on Friday, March 18, 2022, after suffering blunt force injuries in the 800 block of West Lexington Street in Baltimore. He died later that day. The Baltimore Police Department investigated his death, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists it as a homicide.
His death was not counted as a homicide right away.
According to the Sun's notes, "the medical examiner's office ruled the death a homicide on June 8, 2022," nearly three months after he died, which is the date the database uses for his case. The delay suggests that it may not have been clear at first how he was hurt, and that the cause of death was settled only after the autopsy and further review. The record does not say what the medical examiner found that led to the ruling.
Beyond his name, his age and the block where he was found, almost nothing about Anthony Barksdale 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. His name is shared with a well-known Baltimore police commander who later became the city's deputy mayor for public safety, and searches for it return almost nothing but coverage of that man's career, which may be one reason this Anthony Barksdale's death drew so little notice.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was hurt 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.
West Lexington Street runs west from the heart of downtown Baltimore, through the city's west side, a corridor of rowhouses, storefronts and bus stops. A man found unresponsive on such a street, or in a building along it, would likely have been seen by passersby, residents or workers in the area.
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 Anthony Barksdale could be found in news archives or public records. More than four years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who was in the 800 block of West Lexington Street in March 2022, who knew Anthony Barksdale, or who heard about a fight or an assault involving a man in his sixties there that month, may know something that has never reached detectives. 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).
