Elser case faces setbacks

After announcing in July that they were holding a "person of interest" in connection with the murder of Christopher Elser, Baltimore City Police officials now concede that they do not expect to file charges against that man.

"The person is less interesting than we originally thought," said Detective Vernon Parker, the lead investigator in the case. "We are kind of back to square one."

This most recent setback marks another obstacle in the investigation, which has already been hampered by the lack of evidence or witnesses.

"We don't have anything quite like this," he said, referring to the unique difficulties that this case has presented investigators. Even though police have followed a number of leads, Parker said, none has drawn them closer to solving the case.

The stabbing occurred on a Saturday morning in mid-April in a house on the 2900 block of St. Paul Street. Elser, who did not live in the house but had traded rooms with a friend for the night, was sleeping in a bedroom when an intruder entered the house through an unlocked rear door. Police believe that the intruder startled Elser and that he fought his attacker before being stabbed once in the chest and the left arm. He was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he died as a result of his wounds the following day. Police have indicated that Elser was the only occupant of the house to see the attacker. Although he said that his attacker was a black man, Elser did not give any further description and police did not have a chance to interview him before he died.

In the hours following the stabbing, police deployed their crime lab to the scene to gather evidence. Investigators interviewed and then re-interviewed people who were in the house at the time of the stabbing. A few days later, police deployed the mobile crime unit as well as canine and mounted officers to reassure citizens and to help them feel comfortable with providing any information they had about the case. They also passed out leaflets in Charles Village asking anyone with information to come forward.

In the weeks after the murder, detectives searched police reports hoping to find similar robberies in the area. Parker said that although they found residential, dorm and fraternity break-ins sharing some similarities, nothing has led them to the killer.

In what they thought could be their most promising lead, police also uncovered surveillance footage that was taken near the crime scene shortly before the murder. The video, which lasted about 25 minutes, showed a man looking into at least one building. In June, police released that video to the media in hopes of gaining public attention and getting leads. They also announced a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed Elser.

After the video's release, police received several tips which led them to a man who was already being held in unrelated charges. Police interviewed the man who fit the description of the person seen in the surveillance footage.

"The video was at the time, we thought significant," Parker said.

However, the grainy quality made it difficult for identification. Police efforts to tie the man to the murder were unsuccessful.

Now, over four months following the incident, Parker says that he is still hopeful that the case can be solved but that the odds are getting longer.

"At this juncture it is difficult but not impossible," he said.

"Every murder investigation is different and we never stop," Baltimore City Police Public Information Officer Nicole Monroe said. "It's why we don't just have a homicide section, we have a cold case homicide section," she said.

The fact that this case has not been switched to the cold case unit, a designation that police make on a case by case basis, means that investigators still believe that they have a chance of closing the case, Monroe said.

Investigators hope that the start of the school year will jog people's memories about anything that they saw on the morning that Elser was killed.

"I guess we're hoping that kids on campus will keep their eyes and ears open," he said.

"It might not mean anything to you but might mean something to the detectives," Monroe said.

Detectives caution that while cases like Elser's may not have any promising leads, they are often solved with only one tip.

"We're still a phone call away," Parker said.