Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police confirmed early Thursday that detectives are working a homicide investigation in the department's Metro Division, a fresh case that comes as the city continues to sort through a separate, unrelated killing at a northeast Charlotte apartment complex. The department shared few details about the Metro Division case beyond the fact that it is ongoing.
What CMPD Has Said So Far
In a post shared at 2:46 a.m. on October 1, 2026, CMPD News
stated simply that there was a “Homicide Investigation in the Metro Division.” The post appeared under the name CMPD News.
The evidence available does not establish the identity of the victim, the exact location, the time of the incident, or whether any suspect has been identified or arrested in connection with this Metro Division investigation. It also isn't clear whether this case is connected to any other recent homicide investigation in the city; CMPD has not released a fuller statement tying the post to a specific incident.
The Round Pond Road Stabbing
Charlotte has also been grappling with a fatal stabbing that happened around 7:15 p.m. on a recent Saturday in the 4900 block of Round Pond Road, at the Zora University apartments in northeast Charlotte, according to the Charlotte Observer.
The victim in the Round Pond Road case was identified as 38-year-old John Joseph Perry, the newspaper reported. CMPD officials said Perry sustained multiple stab wounds and was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Charlotte Fire Department. Baron Deshawn Crawford, 31, was charged with first-degree murder in Perry's death and is being held without bond, per the same account. A second person who was at the scene was initially taken to a hospital as a precaution and has since been named a suspect.
Charlotte's Homicide Numbers Through 2025
The new investigations arrive against a backdrop of declining homicide figures citywide. Charlotte saw a 13% drop in homicides in 2025 compared with 2024, according to data presented by CMPD and reported by the Charlotte Observer. Overall crime in the city fell 9% over the same period, including a 21% decrease in violent crime and a 6% decrease in property crime, the newspaper reported.
The exact homicide total for 2025 carries some ambiguity in the public record. Police Chief Estella Patterson said Charlotte recorded 96 homicides in 2025, down from 110 in 2024, while CMPD's own website data was reported elsewhere as showing 97 homicides for 2025. Separately, the tally used by the department does not include eight cases that police and prosecutors deemed justified, according to the Observer's reporting. The available evidence does not explain the discrepancy between the chief's figure and the website figure, nor does it provide a verified homicide count for 2026 so far.
