A Baltimore judge has pushed the murder trial of 32-year-old Ephrem Melekte to January 11, 2027, in the killing of his family’s 71-year-old roommate, Mekonen Habteselassie — a delay that leaves his 67-year-old mother, Fasika Tsadik, to face her own trial on September 22, 2026, before his case.
Melekte was present in the courtroom on Friday but refused to participate in the proceeding, though he heard everything that occurred, according to Baltimore Witness. Judge Melissa K. Copeland set the January trial date after Melekte’s defense attorney identified it as the earliest available slot, since the 2027 scheduling docket was not yet open. Tsadik’s trial, meanwhile, was set to begin September 22, and a prosecutor told the court she anticipates Melekte’s eventual trial will last six days and expects complications given the split timelines between the two co-defendants, who are being tried separately.
Both Melekte and Tsadik are charged with first-degree murder and with possessing a dangerous weapon with intent to injure in the death of Habteselassie, who lived with them in the same residence. Under Maryland law, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, with or without parole, and prosecutors seeking life without parole must file written notice at least 30 days before trial, according to FrizWoods. The weapon charge alone, under a separate statute, is a misdemeanor carrying up to three years in prison and a $1,000 fine, according to Baltimore Legal Services.
A Welfare Check Uncovered a Decomposed Body
The case began on September 25, 2025, when friends who had not heard from Habteselassie asked for a welfare check at the residence. Eastern District patrol officers arrived at the apartment in the 1200 block of North Patterson Park Avenue at approximately 9:42 a.m. that day, per the same account. Officers located Habteselassie’s remains inside the apartment in late stages of decomposition, and an autopsy later ruled his manner of death a homicide from stab wounds.
Forensic investigators recovered a hammer near the victim’s head and a butcher knife nearby, inside the upstairs bedroom where the badly decomposed body was found, the Baltimore Witness reported in a subsequent account. Blood spatter was found in bedrooms, the kitchen area, and on clothing inside the home. Surveillance footage showed that Melekte and Tsadik left the residence together, and they did not return.
Surveillance Footage Tracked the Suspects’ Flight
CCTV footage showed Tsadik and Melekte leaving together, with Tsadik carrying a large bag and Melekte carrying a single glove. Detectives alleged in charging documents that the glove was worn to cover a hand injury consistent with using a knife during the killing. The footage further showed the pair fleeing first to Washington, D.C., before traveling on to New York.
Baltimore Police Department detectives, working with the Warrant Apprehension Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service, tracked down and arrested Melekte and Tsadik in New York in October 2025 following the out-of-state manhunt, according to the Baltimore Police Department. The arrests came as part of a broader autumn 2025 enforcement surge that closed 20 violent crime cases and brought the city’s annual homicide arrest tally to 68, as Hoodline previously reported.
Competency Question Adds Further Delay
Melekte’s case has also been complicated by questions over his mental fitness. In August 2026, Judge Copeland waived his court presence for medical treatment and referred his case to mental health court for a competency evaluation requested by his defense attorney, Andre Mahasa, according to Baltimore Witness’s earlier reporting on the case. No presiding judge had been scheduled for Melekte’s trial before the January date was set.
The 1200 block of North Patterson Park Avenue sits in East Baltimore. Hoodline has reported on a June 2026 shooting involving a 15-year-old boy near the 600 block of North Patterson Park Avenue and on a teen shot steps from Tench Tilghman on the same street. The motive behind Habteselassie’s killing has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether either co-defendant will testify against the other given their separate trial schedules.
