CATONSVILLE, Md. — Almost 30 years after 36-year-old James Robert Baekey was shot and killed outside a Catonsville shop, his murder remains unsolved.
On Nov. 25, 1996, witnesses saw Baekey backing out of the Custom Additions shop on Baltimore National Pike with his hands up. Two suspects followed him out, and one pushed Baekey to the ground before someone shot him.
A helicopter flew Baekey to Shock Trauma, where he was pronounced dead.
WMAR's reporting at the time showed Baekey had about $600 in his pocket.
"We’re thinking a robbery, but he had money in the pocket," an unidentified person said.
The killing rattled people in the area near Winters Lane and the Beltway off-ramp, which had seen a wave of crime at the time.
"It just makes you wonder, is anywhere safe? I can’t make a living in the mountains, I have to do something. It’s very unnerving," one man told WMAR-2 News at the time.
Cold case investigators sent WMAR-2 News crime scene photos showing evidence left behind in the daylight.
Police believe the suspects may have escaped in a mint green Volkswagen Jetta with a model year between 1989 and 1996.
Anyone who remembers anything about that night, or saw a vehicle matching the description, can call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-3943.
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