In the morning hours of November 6, 2024, a tragic event unfolded in the Eastern District of Baltimore that resulted in the death of Bianca Nelson, a 30-year-old Black female. On that day, at approximately 10:43 a.m., Baltimore Police Department officers were dispatched to the 1800 block of North Montford Avenue after receiving a ShotSpotter alert. Upon their arrival, they discovered a grim scene.
Bianca Nelson was found unresponsive on the ground near a Ford Fusion, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Alongside her was a 31-year-old male, later identified as her boyfriend, who had sustained a graze wound to his chest.
Emergency medical personnel promptly transported both victims to a local hospital for treatment. Despite their efforts, Bianca Nelson succumbed to her injuries later that evening. The subsequent autopsy, conducted on November 7, 2024, officially ruled her death a homicide. The investigation into the shooting revealed that Nelson's boyfriend had been waiting for her in his car when an unknown male, later identified as Dakwane Cole, approached and began a conversation with him. When Nelson exited her house and walked towards the vehicle, Cole allegedly produced a handgun and opened fire on both of them before fleeing the scene on foot with a group of other unidentified males.
Investigators at the scene recovered several key pieces of evidence, including plastic bottles that appeared to have been recently consumed by the suspect and his companions. A latent print lifted from one of these bottles was a crucial breakthrough, as it was later found to be a match for 29-year-old Dakwane Cole. This physical evidence, combined with a positive identification of Cole by the surviving male victim from a photo array, solidified him as the primary suspect in the case. On November 25, 2024, detectives arrested Dakwane Cole in the same block where the murder had occurred. He was subsequently transported to the Central Booking Intake Facility and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. In May 2025, a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge postponed Dakwane Cole's homicide case to provide counsel with adequate time to receive and examine the substantial evidence linked to the case.
