BALTIMORE — Baltimore County Police are confident the body found in Southwest Baltimore Saturday morning was that of 50-year-old Charla Melvin, who was last seen a week ago.
On Monday morning, officials say they found Melvin's missing black Hyundai Santa Fe in Baltimore City on Manhattan Avenue. Baltimore County homicide detectives have taken the vehicle for a forensic examination.
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"She was a beautiful soul and I just wanted people to know how beautiful she was," said cousin Damon Fisher.
He helped organize a vigil for her outside her Windsor Mill home Sunday night. Surrounded by close family, friends and Baltimore County Police Officers, they said their goodbyes.
"It was an opportunity to let her soul rest and release her soul," said her daughter Marquitta Rose.
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Police are now investigating the connection between her murder and her cousin's suicide.
"We had a strong suspicion that Ms. Melvin was a victim of foul play," said Baltimore County Police Spokesman Cpl. Shawn Vinson.
She was reported missing by her family on September 9. The next day, the body of her cousin Thomas Davis, Jr. was found in Baltimore City. Baltimore Police determined that Davis committed suicide.
"Is Mr. Davis responsible for this homicide and what led up to it, if it was an argument?" said Vinson.
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It leaves her family and friends to cope with the unimaginable pain of losing such a loving person.
"She loved hard and she accepted people who probably didn't even deserve her love and she became a victim of her own love and that's hard," said Fisher.
Police say that positive identification is pending the final determination of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Initial findings are that Melvin’s death occurred from sharp force trauma.
"We are not confirming that it's a stabbing at this point because it could be some other type of trauma," said Vinson.
If anyone has information about this case, call the Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7 LOCK-UP. There is now a $2,500 reward for information in this case.
