Phillip Smith was 39 years old when he was stabbed to death on Monday, May 20, 2024, in the 3900 block of Ridgewood Avenue in Baltimore. The Baltimore Police Department investigated the killing, and the Baltimore Sun's homicide database lists his death as a homicide.
Very little about the attack has been made public. When Baltimore police identified him a few days later, in a release reported by Fox45, they gave only his name, his date of birth, December 30, 1984, and the date and block
where he was killed. A brief account posted by the Baltimore Witness said that when officers arrived they "observed 39-year-old Phillip Smith suffering from a life-threatening stab wound," and that medics "pronounced the victim deceased on the scene." Police did not say publicly what led to the stabbing, whether it followed an argument, or whether anyone else was present.
Online obituary listings give a fuller name. A memorial page posted through Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services and a listing on Legacy.com describe a Phillip Deondre Smith, born in 1984, who died on May 20, 2024, at the age of 39, which matches the date and age in the police release. The listings invite family and friends to share memories, but the short excerpts available for this story do not describe his life, his work or the people he left behind.
Phillip Smith is a very common name, and searches for it turn up many unrelated people, including a much younger man of the same name who was arrested in an unrelated 2022 police operation in West Baltimore. None of those records has anything to do with the man killed on Ridgewood Avenue, and they should not be confused with him.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances of his death 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 inside a home or out on the street. It does not say what time of day it happened, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Ridgewood Avenue is a residential street in Baltimore, and the Sun's database places the killing in the 3900 block. People who lived nearby, walked the block regularly or were visiting someone there that day may remember something about that Monday that seemed unimportant at the time.
Homicides in Baltimore began falling steeply in 2023 and 2024, reaching the lowest totals in decades, yet many killings from those years remain unsolved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Phillip Smith could be found in news archives or public records. More than two years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Someone who was on or near the 3900 block of Ridgewood Avenue in May 2024, or who knew Phillip Deondre Smith and heard talk about a dispute in the days before he died, may hold information 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).
