Witnesses identify 34-year-old woman accused of stabbing 18-year-old to death in SW Baltimore
A 34-year-old woman is behind bars after detectives took her into custody and charged her with fatally stabbing an 18-year-old woman in Southwest Baltimore on July 25.
The stabbing, which took place in an alley next to the Love of God Apostolic Church, happened during a fight, police said.
Maryland District Court Judge Michael Studdard postponed the bail review for suspect Dasianae Richardson and rescheduled it for Tuesday afternoon.
A father's heartbreak
The father of 18-year-old Brielle Handy posted tributes online to his daughter.
In one post on Facebook, he wrote, "My heart will be forever broken, but I'm happy and blessed to have experienced real love, Brielle. I thank you for being my daughter, and being your dad has made me the best version of myself."
Handy was stabbed in the neck less than two weeks ago in an alley off the 3200 block of West Baltimore Street near South Hilton Street.
The victim was one of seven people killed in Baltimore City last month.
In another post, Handy's father wrote he is now part of a club no one wants to be in — parents who have lost a child.
He said he will "never be the same."
The deacon of the church next to where his daughter was stabbed offered a message of faith and healing.
"All we know is we're praying for them. We're praying for the parents, and we're saying to God, be the glory," Deacon Milton Nelson told WJZ.
How the violence unfolded
The stabbing happened just after 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 25.
"Caller states group of girls beating up one girl, ten individuals involved," a dispatcher said on recordings reviewed by WJZ Investigates.
Several minutes later, an officer said, "Sounds like this was a planned fight between two parties."
Police arrested 34-year-old Dasianae Richardson. She is facing life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder, the most serious of the six charges against her.
According to charging documents WJZ Investigates obtained, "…Handy along with a friend were involved in a physical altercation with multiple individuals…"
The documents state witnesses identified Richardson as the person who stabbed her.
Police wrote, "…They observed Ms. Richardson pull a knife from her shirt and stab Ms. Handy in the neck. …All witnesses stated Ms. Richardson placed the knife back in her shirt and left the scene on foot."
A neighbor told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren he saw the aftermath.
"I just saw a girl lying on the sidewalk and a whole bunch of people were around her, trying to help her, and they called the ambulance. They came, and all of them were gone," said Virgil, who declined to give his last name.
Police dispatch audio reveals officers tried to track the suspect down using license plate readers.
"See if we have any black trucks that might have gone through Hilton one or two times," an officer said. "Apparently, the suspect got into a black vehicle, possibly a truck."
Suspect's past
A review of court records shows last year Richardson faced a misdemeanor assault charge involving a minor victim.
In 2024, she was charged with a misdemeanor for failing to send a child to school. A trial is set for later this month.
A 2017 domestic violence protective order against her was dismissed when the person who filed it failed to show up in court.
What happened in court?
Richardson was scheduled to have a remote bail review at the Hargrove District Courthouse on Patapsco Avenue Monday afternoon.
Her public defender said she is currently being housed at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women.
The court was unable to access the zoom link for that facility, so Judge Studdard postponed the bail review until Tuesday afternoon.
