Crime & Safety
Man Arrested In Church Murder: Baltimore Police
The deadly stabbing of 69-year-old Evelyn Player in a Baltimore church was "shocking to the conscience," the police commissioner said.
BALTIMORE, MD — A Baltimore man was charged with murder and other offenses related to the death of a woman in a church.
Manzie Smith Jr., 62, was arrested Dec. 1 in the 4900 block of Crenshaw Avenue, police said. He has been charged with first-degree murder and other offenses, according to officials.
Police allege Smith fatally stabbed a woman who was at an east Baltimore church in November.
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Evelyn Player, 69, was killed Tuesday, Nov. 16, in the 1700 block of North Chester Street.
"While we are all affected by all murders, the fact that this occurred in a house of worship made it more shocking to the conscience," Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said.
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Although Gov. Larry Hogan offered a $100,000 reward for information in the case, tips did not lead to the arrest of Smith, police said. Evidence that investigators collected and the crime lab processed led to identification of the suspect, Harrison said during a Thursday news conference announcing the arrest.
The man charged was on supervised parole at the time, Harrison said.
"There's no information right now to support that there was a relationship between the victim and the perpetrator," Harrison said.
The death was "senseless" and a "complete tragedy," the mayor said at the news conference.
"Mrs. Player's family was forced to endure Thanksgiving without their matriarch, without their rock," Mayor Brandon Scott said. "It was not a drug-related act or connected to violent groups."
In response to the arrest, the governor issued a statement Thursday afternoon.
"We are glad that there has been an arrest for the murder of Evelyn Player. Justice must be served," said Hogan.
After Baltimore's 300th murder, Hogan last week said that he was withholding funding from the state's attorney's office pending a review of its data on the number of cases it has not prosecuted and why, the number of cases pleaded down to lesser charges and the number of repeat offenders who were given plea deals, according to Maryland Matters.
Said Hogan: "We continue to keep Evelyn’s loved ones in our prayers."
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