BALTIMORE COUNTY — A 33-year-old murder case in Baltimore County remains unsolved, and police are asking for the public's help to finally bring justice to the family of Paul Monk.
"This is basically an assassination. Someone was waiting, behind this dumpster, for him to come out of this bar that night," said Cpl. Dona Carter, an investigator with the Baltimore County Police Department's cold cases squad.
On August 5, 1992, Monk was leaving Clayton's Bar and Grill with his friends in Overlea, not long after going to the Orioles game, when someone ambushed and shot him multiple times in the parking lot.
WATCH: Man ambushed, shot dead in 1992 outside Overlea bar after attending O’s game
The victim, who worked as a bartender at a different establishment, still had his Orioles ticket in his pocket when he was killed.
"I don't know exactly why, but I can tell you it was definitely targeted," Carter described. "They were after him and him only."
"The friends he was with," Carter continued, "described the suspect walked directly, straight up to him. He's with two other people, he and his one friend are on the same side of the car and the person just walks past his friend, walks straight up to Mr. Monk, and shoots him multiple times."
An outdoor lightbulb in the parking lot was found unscrewed, darkening the area and making it easier for the suspect to carry out the shooting and leave out-of-sight. He reportedly fled south on Belair Road.
Despite the targeted nature of the crime, investigators at the time could not identify any enemies or conflicts in Monk's life. Bar patrons confirmed there had been no fight that evening, leaving the motive a mystery that persists more than three decades later.
"His friends have even been talked to several times since this occurred. His friends were pretty devastated, they were all together and their intention was to leave together in his car," Carter said.
The lack of security camera footage and limited physical evidence caused the case to go cold, but the Baltimore County Cold Case Team continues working to solve it.
"A lot of times, people do talk. They either feel bad, or as bad as this sounds, they might brag about what they've done. We just need somebody to start talking about what happened that night," Carter said.
Anyone with information about Paul Monk's murder is asked to call the Baltimore County Police Unsolved Case Squad at 410-887-3943.
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