WESTMINSTER, Md. — The Jones Manor boarding house remains a fixture on Westminster’s East Main Street today, and that’s where someone bludgeoned 30-year-old Richard Atkins Jr. on December 27 of 2003.
Atkins’ mother found his body two days later.
“I can remember everything. Going up to his room and finding him,” his mother told us.
“As clear as day?” I asked.
“As clear as day,” she replied, “They asked me… when I called 911, they asked me, ‘Are you sure he’s dead?’ I said, ‘Yes’, because the blood was already dried up.”
Richard was the Atkins’ only child, and they are now offering $100,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction for his murder.
“He’s my son. I mean he’s our son, and we would just like the person that did it to pay for it,” said the victim’s father, Richard Atkins, Senior, “I think that’s what about anybody would want.”
Within two weeks of Atkins’ murder, police had already made an arrest, yet almost two decades later, the case remains unsolved.
The mental disposition of the initial suspect, problems with evidence and other possible suspects combined to torpedo the case---a case which has grown cold over the years.
The Atkins chose to up the ante fearful that they may not live long enough to get justice for their son’s murder.
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” said the victim’s mother, “I’ve been hoping for it for 19 years.”
In fact, Mary Atkins says she has refused to bury her son’s ashes, which remain on a shelf beneath his image, until his killer has been found.
If you have information about Atkins’ killer, you can call Sgt. Christopher Taylor of the Maryland State Police Cold Case Unit at 410-996-7881.
