Do you know who murdered Harry Baker? Harry Henry Baker IV, an African-American male from Washington, DC, was a beloved son, father, grandson, and brother whose life intersected closely with his family and neighborhood. Obituary notices describe him as the son of Harry H. Baker III and the late Cathy Dugar, the devoted father of four children—Harry, Hyron, Lanijah, and Chyna—and the loving grandson of Nancy E. Baker-Colbert, with a large circle of siblings and extended family who cared deeply for him.
In the days after his death, friends and relatives remembered him in heartfelt tributes, recalling years of shared memories, laughter, and everyday moments that made him a central figure in their lives.
In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 7, 2004, Baker was on the 400 block of 10th Street NE in Washington when gunfire shattered the stillness around 3:00 a.m. He was shot and killed there, his death turning an ordinary residential block into a crime scene and leaving his family and community facing an abrupt and violent loss. Metropolitan Police Department materials describe the killing starkly: Harry Baker was “shot to death” at that location and time, with no further public detail about what led up to the attack or how the confrontation unfolded.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department's Violent Crimes Branch took responsibility for the investigation, and the department quickly appealed to the public for help. Flyers bearing Baker's photograph were distributed, listing Detectives Dexter Martin and Dennis Myles as the primary contacts for anyone who might know what happened that night. The department offered a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible, underscoring how urgently investigators needed community cooperation to move the case forward.
Even as detectives worked, Baker's family prepared to lay him to rest. A week after the shooting, on August 14, 2004, mourners were invited to Holy Christian Missionary Baptist Church For All People, at 5110 Nannie H. Burroughs Avenue NE, where friends and relatives gathered from 9:00 a.m. until the funeral service at 11:00 a.m., officiated by Rev. Stephen E. Young. The obituary and later guest book entries paint a picture of a man whose absence left a deep ache—someone remembered as playful and affectionate, a figure who had been present for milestones in others' lives and who now existed only in stories and in the memories of those who had grown up and grown close with him.
Years passed, but the questions surrounding his killing did not fade. Baker's case appears on the Metropolitan Police Department's roster of major, unsolved homicides from 2004, a public acknowledgment that no one has yet been held to account. CrimeSolversCentral, which profiles unsolved homicides, lists his death as a “death by force” and reiterates that he was shot and killed on the same northeast block, emphasizing that the department has continued to seek information and that the reward remains a key tool in trying to unlock the silence around the crime. As of the most recent updates, there have been no publicly reported arrests in connection with Harry Baker's killing, and no suspects have been officially identified; his case remains open, carried forward by investigators and by the loved ones who still speak his name and wait for answers.
