Lincoln Hosten was a young man of 23 with his life ahead of him when he was killed in the late summer of 1992. His death left a void in the lives of those who knew him and a decades-long mystery for investigators in Howard County, Maryland.
On the morning of Thursday, September 3, 1992, a discovery was made in a residential area of Jessup that would launch a homicide investigation spanning more than three decades. The body of Lincoln Hosten was found in the 8300 block of Stayton Drive. An autopsy would later confirm that the young man had died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. The circumstances surrounding his death—why he was in that specific location and who he might have been with—remain unknown. Police have not publicly released information about a potential motive or any suspects in the killing.
The Howard County Police Department immediately took charge of the case.
In the initial days and weeks of the investigation, detectives worked to piece together Hosten's final hours, seeking to create a timeline that might lead them to his killer. They canvassed the neighborhood and appealed to the public for anyone who might have seen or heard something unusual in the area on the night of September 2nd or the early morning of September 3rd. Despite their efforts, the case yielded few substantial leads, and with the passage of time, it grew cold.
The area where Hosten was found, Jessup, is a community that straddles the border of Howard and Anne Arundel counties, a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial zones not far from major thoroughfares like U.S. Route 1 and Interstate 95. The specific block, Stayton Drive, is part of a quiet residential development. Why this location became the final resting place for Hosten is one of the central questions that has troubled investigators.
Decades have passed, but Lincoln Hosten has not been forgotten. His homicide is listed among the unsolved cold cases maintained by the Howard County Police Department. This special unit of detectives is tasked with re-examining old, unresolved cases, hoping that new technologies, fresh eyes, or a long-withheld witness statement might finally bring a breakthrough. Advances in forensic science, particularly in DNA analysis, have helped solve other decades-old crimes, and it remains a source of hope for Hosten's case.
As of March 2025, the investigation into the murder of Lincoln Hosten remains open and active. The Howard County Police Department continues to seek information from the public, believing that someone, somewhere, holds the key to solving this crime. They urge anyone with knowledge about the events leading to Hosten's death, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. A crucial detail could be the missing piece that finally brings justice for Lincoln Hosten and closure to the loved ones he left behind.
