69-year-old stabbed to death in a church, MD cops say. ‘Supposed to be a safe space’
Evelyn Player arrived at her Maryland church early to let workers into the building, a family member told news outlets.
A short time later, police said the 69-year-old was found stabbed to death in a church bathroom.
The longtime member of Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore had been attacked the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 16, leaving neighbors and relatives searching for answers, WJZ-TV reported.
“A murder in a church? Why?” neighbor Delise Lynch asked, according to the TV station. “That is supposed to be a safe space.”
The Baltimore Police Department said it responded at about 7:20 a.m. to North Chester Street, in the same area as the church. At the scene, officers reportedly found a woman dead with “trauma to the body.”
Player is remembered in news reports as a loving woman who started going to Southern Baptist as a child. She was retired from a publishing company but still helped out at her church, The Baltimore Sun reported.
“Who would want to hurt my mother?” asked daughter Alethea Finch, according to the newspaper. “How could someone hurt someone in such a sacred place?”
Finch told WMAR her mother had gotten to the church early to let in a crew that was doing repairs on the building. She said her mom was covering for another person’s shift the day she was killed.
“Because her friend needed help, that’s what she did,” Finch told the TV station. “She offered her hand and went to help her friend.”
Police said the case is being investigated as a homicide. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 410-396-2100 or Crime Stoppers at 866-756-2587.
“We beg you you to call us right now,” said police commissioner Michael Harrison, according to The Baltimore Sun. “Not only so we can hold this person or persons accountable, but so we can also bring justice and calm and closure to this family.”
