Family of man set on fire in East Baltimore asks public for help finding his killer
BALTIMORE -- The family of a man who was killed and set on fire near an alleyway in East Baltimore in October is still searching for answers, according to authorities.
Officers found the body of Bernard Stein III, 35, near the back of a vacant lot near the 1000 block of East 20th Street, according to authorities.
Stein was dead at the time that they found him, police said.
First responders concealed his body with a white sheet as they gathered evidence of the grisly crime.
According to reports, Stein was bound with a plastic bag over his head.
One witness who declined to speak on camera told WJZ that he smelled the fire early Sunday morning and flagged down police.
Homicide detectives have been unable to locate anyone who witnessed the fire or knows about the events leading to Stein's death, the Baltimore Police Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
They have not identified any suspects either, police said.
Neighborhood residents expressed fear following the fatal fire.
"I've been over here since 1978," one neighbor said. "It makes you feel like you're afraid to come out of your house at certain times."
Another neighbor, Vanessa, who declined to give her last name, said she was afraid to leave her home too.
"We've got demons out here now," she said. "They're jumping into people. You don't know what's going on. It's devastating for somebody to do that to somebody."
Metro Crime Stoppers on Tuesday announced a reward of up to $6,000 for information leading to an arrest in his death.
