Derrick Markel Peterson

Derrick Markel Peterson was a talker, a people person who loved his family and saved his money responsibly. The 23-year-old male had graduated from Suitland High School and worked a series of jobs at an ice cream factory, the Hecht’s department store, and UPS. He was proud of the blue 1998 Lincoln Town Car he had saved up to buy. Derrick was especially close to his mother, Rose, a bond that had deepened after his brother passed away four years earlier. They often went to the movies or out to dinner together. His mother remembered him as a good son who helped around the kitchen and loved sports, especially the Lakers, Redskins, and Giants. Every night, she would wait up watching television until she knew he was home safe.

On the cold evening of December 17, 2001, Derrick never made it inside. Around 9:00 p.m., he was backing his Lincoln into a parking space at The Seasons Apartments in the 9600 block of Barrel House Road in Laurel, Maryland, where he lived with his parents. As he got out of his car, he was ambushed. An assailant shot him twice at point-blank range. When police responded to 911 calls, they found Derrick slumped partly out of the driver’s side door. Instead of her son walking through the door that night, Rose Peterson was met by two Howard County police officers who delivered the devastating news.

Witnesses heard the gunshots and saw a man running from the scene. He was described as a Black male in his 20s, between 5'8" and 5'10" tall and weighing 160 to 180 pounds. He was seen carrying a handgun in one hand and a bulky item in the other. That item was Derrick’s distinctive waist-length, dark cherry-colored Coogi brand leather jacket, a gift from his cousin that had the brand name spelled out in colorful letters across the back. The jacket was missing from the scene. The shooter jumped into a waiting vehicle, described as a boxy, white or light-colored four-door sedan, similar to a 1990s Ford Crown Victoria or Chevrolet Caprice. The car, which had been waiting with its lights off, sped down Barrel House Road toward North Laurel Road.

The getaway driver was also described by witnesses as a Black male in his 20s, but with a much larger build, standing between 6'0" and 6'3" and weighing approximately 275 pounds. The Howard County Police Department launched an investigation, initially exploring robbery as a motive due to the theft of the expensive jacket. However, detectives came to believe the murder was not random but a targeted attack. They theorized the killing may have stemmed from a personal dispute, possibly related to drugs. While Derrick had no criminal record, police noted that trace amounts of marijuana were found on him. His mother maintained that she never knew him to use drugs and that he was not a troublemaker.

For more than two decades, Derrick’s mother has lived with the pain and the unanswered questions. The grief was so overwhelming that the family had to move away from the apartment, unable to bear the daily sight of where Derrick took his last breath. In the years since, Rose also lost her husband, leaving her to carry the burden of seeking justice for her son alone. "That was the most painful, painful gut-wrenching experience that I've ever had," she said of the moment detectives told her Derrick was gone. Her anger remains sharp. "I have told the detectives and police and anybody else if I knew who it was I would go after them myself," she said. "That’s the rage in me. I have nothing to lose."

The investigation into Derrick Peterson’s murder remains an active cold case with the Howard County Police Department. Over the years, on anniversaries of the homicide, police have reissued pleas for information and highlighted details like the stolen Coogi jacket and the descriptions of the two men involved. As of April 2026, no arrests have been made, and the case remains unsolved. "We're really no closer now than we were that night," a detective stated in 2016. For Rose Peterson, the fight continues. "Help me," she pleaded. "Help me as a mother, my family, the detectives have run down many leads, but still no one has been arrested."

A reward of up to $10,000 is offered by Howard County Police and Metro Crime Stoppers for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the murder of Derrick Peterson. Anyone with information is urged to contact police at 410-313-7867, Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP or 410-313-STOP, or to email tips to [email protected]. Callers may remain anonymous.