Family of Kierra Tripp, murdered at hotel near Johns Hopkins Hospital, pleads for justice
BALTIMORE -- The family of a woman murdered at a hotel party near Johns Hopkins Hospital is speaking about their loss and pleading for anyone with tips to come forward.
Kierra Tripp, 28, was shot to death inside a room at the Residence Inn on North Wolfe Street on November 17. Despite an $8,000 reward and clear surveillance video, police have yet to make an arrest.
"She had the biggest smile, like her smile was so contagious," one family member told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.
Tripp's aunt, cousin and sister spoke with WJZ but asked to conceal their identities for privacy and security reasons.
They are sharing their story hoping to get justice for her murder.
"We're hurt, sad," one relative said.
"Our family is torn apart," Tripp's aunt said. "This is an unbearable thing that we have to now live with. You didn't just kill my niece. You destroyed our family. This is a pain that we've never had to bear, and it's at the hands of someone else. She didn't deserve this. She has family that loves her and you just ripped her away from us. Why?"
Surveillance video provides clues
Surveillance images taken before the killing show multiple people leaving an elevator headed to a party inside the hotel around 1:30 a.m.
Kierra went to that party and never made it out alive.
Police said they want to question everyone in the surveillance video.
"We released video surveillance showing a lot of people who were there," Baltimore Police Detective Vernon Davis said. "We don't know if they are persons of interest. We don't know if they are suspects, but we know that they were in that room. The question is what happened in the room. We don't have cameras inside the room, so that's the thing that we need to figure out. We know that the victim went in the room with several guest members, and she didn't come out."
"Loved the wrong people"
"All we know is she went to cut hair, and she wanted to hang with friends," one relative said. "She trusted you, and she trusted that she would be OK. And this is her outcome. It's not fair. This situation just shows she loved the wrong people."
Tripp's family has a message for the killer or killers.
"I just hope every time they go to sleep, they just see her face," a family member said. "Every time they sit in silence, they think of what they did to her, and it eats them from the inside out."
Tripp's family said she just finished training to become an emergency medical technician and recently enrolled in school again to study anesthesiology.
She had a soft spot for animals, often rescuing stray dogs.
"How could you live with knowing that your family member is in the video and not come forward? Like, do the right thing. If you haven't already, just do the right thing," a relative said.
Anonymous tipline
Tripp is one of more than 190 people murdered this year in Baltimore.
"You can say, 'Hey, I don't want to leave my name, but I know who this is, you probably want to look into them.'" Detective Davis said.
Davis confirmed police know who rented the hotel room.
"I don't know where investigators are at right now in that portion of the investigation speaking to that person, but it's the partygoers that they really need to speak with who came off that elevator and went into that hotel room," Davis said.
You can remain anonymous with your tips by calling Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-Lockup.
