Terry Schmansky was found fatally stabbed inside her Dundalk apartment on Holabird Avenue on September 23, 1989, and nearly four decades later, no one has ever been charged in her killing. Her daughters say male DNA evidence exists in the case, but they're still waiting for someone to be held responsible for their mother's death.
Sources differ on how old Schmansky was when she died: FOX45 News reports she was a 27-year-old mother of three, while FOX Baltimore has reported she was 31, and WMAR-2 News has reported she was 36 and worked as a waitress at Squire's Restaurant. What isn't in dispute is what happened that morning: Schmansky's brother found her dead when he arrived to take her eldest daughter home after the girl had spent the night elsewhere, according to WMAR-2 News.
According to family, Schmansky had moved into the Holabird Avenue apartment after separating from her husband. Per her daughters, she worked a shift at Squire's Restaurant the night before her death and went on a double date afterward. Loved ones say she had felt someone was following her and was visibly upset the night before she was killed, and she reportedly shared a beer with a neighbor on her porch before going to sleep for the last time.
Family Says Evidence Includes Male DNA
Schmansky's three children were not present during the attack, according to FOX Baltimore's report on the case. Investigators believe she may have known or been familiar with her killer, that same report states, though no suspects were ever identified despite what was described as an extensive homicide investigation. The case remains unsolved.
Baltimore Magazine's account of the investigation notes that a knife believed to be the murder weapon was recovered from a Dumpster at a gas station near the scene. WMAR-2 News has reported that investigators had people of interest early on but lacked sufficient evidence to charge anyone, and the case eventually went cold. FOX Baltimore also reports that Schmansky's maiden name was Burkholder.
Investigators are still searching for suspects, and evidence in the case includes male DNA, according to FOX45 News. One of Schmansky's daughters told the station that future DNA advances could help investigators hone in on that evidence. “Someone does know something and something does not add up,” she said, according to FOX45 News. Of her mother, she added: “My mom…she didn't even get a life.”
Baltimore County's Cold Case Unit Has Cracked Old Killings Before
Schmansky's murder has remained unsolved for 34 years, per FOX45 News, a figure that places the case's cold status a few years before the current anniversary. Baltimore County's cold-case unit, formed in 2002, has solved two dozen cases since then, including several decades-old crimes, using tools like the FBI-backed CODIS database, according to Baltimore Magazine. That same report notes the unit was handling 233 other prioritized crimes and missing-person cases at last count.
The unit's track record includes cracking the 1979 murder of Sheila Rascoe after DNA evidence connected the case to Thomas Grant, who was sentenced to two life terms in 2008, per Baltimore Magazine. Elsewhere in Maryland, newer DNA technology and genetic genealogy have cracked cases even older than Schmansky's: a Charles County cold case was reportedly solved 44 years later when DNA linked a suspect to the victim's death, according to CBS Baltimore, and a 1979 rape and murder case was resolved through genetic genealogy, ABC News has reported.
How to Submit Tips
Anyone with information about Terry Schmansky's murder is asked to call Baltimore County police at 410-887-3943, per WMAR-2 News. Tips can also be submitted through the Baltimore County Police Department's iWatch system or through Metro Crime Stoppers, either online or via mobile app, according to FOX45 News. Metro Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest and charges in connection with felony offenses, FOX Baltimore reports, and can be reached at 1-866-756-2587.
