Arrest Made in Murder of a 41-Year-Old Aberdeen Woman

Updated 1:00 8/1/08

STATE POLICE ARREST SUSPECT IN HARFORD CO. MURDER

(Aberdeen, MD) Maryland State Police homicide investigators have arrested and charged a man with the murder of the woman whose body was found Wednesday inside a sleeping bag dumped along a Harford County road.

The accused is identified as Tyrone L. Wiggins, 48, of the 700-block of W. Bel Air Avenue, Aberdeen, Md. After consultation with the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, troopers charged Wiggins with first degree murder and second degree murder. He has been processed at the Bel Air Barracks and taken to the Harford County Detention Center where he will await an initial appearance before a court commissioner.

Wiggins is charged with the murder of Jodie S. Davis, 41, of the 700-block of Clayton Street, Aberdeen, Md. The body of Davis was found on the afternoon of July 30, 2008, inside a sleeping bag that was laying along the roadside in the 400-block of Bush Chapel Road, north of Stepney Road, near Aberdeen. The autopsy conducted yesterday revealed Davis’ death was a homicide resulting from a gunshot wound.

Further investigation by State Police Homicide Unit investigators revealed Wiggins was the victim’s boyfriend. State Police interviewed Wiggins yesterday as they continued to follow up on leads in the case. Troopers developed information leading them to believe Davis had been at Wiggins’ apartment on the night of July 29th and the early morning hours of July 30th.

Information developed during the investigation indicates Wiggins shot Davis with a handgun while she was inside his apartment. Wiggins is believed to have placed the victim’s body in the sleeping bag and deposited it along the road, before moving the victim’s vehicle away from the scene, disposing of the gun and cleaning up the apartment. Troopers recovered bloody clothes from a dumpster near the apartment where Wiggins lives. A motive for the murder is unclear at this time.

Maryland State Police investigators are continuing their investigation. Forensic scientists at the State Police Forensic Sciences Laboratory are processing evidence related to the murder.

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Maryland State Police have identified the woman found dead in a sleeping bag near the municipal limits of Aberdeen Wednesday as 41-year-old Aberdeen woman, Jodie S. Davis. A Baltimore medical examiner also ruled her death was a homicide by way of a gunshot wound.

No other details of the case have been released, but it’s important to point out Ms. Davis’ history with the Maryland judicial system - and why she heard from the court system the day before she was killed.

Ms. Davis, a resident of Clayton Street in Aberdeen, had been through the legal system several times this decade.

In 1994, Ms. Davis was charged with battery.

In 2000, there was a judgement filed against her by ERN, LLC for a $5,783.80. 

In 2004, Ms. Davis was charged with second-degree assault and theft greater than $500 in a case with John L. Alford as the complainant. Later that year, Ms. Davis had a peace order filed against Alford 

In 2007, she was an alleged victim of second-degree assault and was also charged herself with second-degree assault, telephone misuse for repeated calls and harassment.

In August 2007, she was pursued by the Harford County District Court for contempt.

Also, in August 2000, Comcast Cablevision of Maryland filed a judgement against her for $555.59. That case has been delayed and postponed for years, but, strangely enough, on July 29 - the day before she was allegedly murdered - Ms. Davis was apparently notified of a show cause hearing date scheduled in the case. 

Here’s the press release from Maryland State Police:

BODY FOUND IN HARFORD CO. IDENTIFIED - MEDICAL EXAMINER RULES DEATH A HOMICIDE

(Aberdeen, MD) – Maryland State Police crime scene technicians have used fingerprints to identify a woman whose body was found inside a sleeping bag along a rural road in Harford County yesterday afternoon.

The woman is identified as Jodie S. Davis, 41. Her last known address was in the 700-block of Clayton Street, in Aberdeen, Md.

Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police obtained fingerprints from the body this morning during the autopsy. The prints were used to positively identify the woman through Maryland’s Automated Fingerprint Identification System at the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division laboratory.
An autopsy on the body was conducted today at the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Baltimore. The medical examiner determined Davis died from a gunshot wound and determined her death to be a homicide.

The body of Davis was found lying inside a sleeping bag along Bush Chapel Road north of Stepney Road just after 1:30 p.m. yesterday. A passing motorist noticed a suspicious package and called State Police. The preliminary investigation indicates the body was not there the night before, but may have been there at least as early as 6:00 a.m. on July 30th.

Maryland State Police investigators are continuing to actively work this investigation. Anyone with any information about Ms. Davis, or who may have seen anything suspicious in the area of the 400-block of Bush Chapel Road from the night of July 29th until the afternoon of July 30th is urged to call State Police at 410-879-2101. Calls may be kept confidential.

Access Denied: O’Malley Advisor Denies Request for School Board Recommendations

Gov. Martin O’Malley Advisor Pat Foerster will not disclose the recommendations made by public officials in support of Harford County Board of Education appointees Alysson Krchnavy and Leonard Wheeler.

In a letter dated July 25th, Foerster responded to our request that this information be released.  For the record, we did not cite any statutes; we simply asked that the documents be made available as a matter of public record.  Continue reading Access Denied: O’Malley Advisor Denies Request for School Board Recommendations

Murder Near Aberdeen: Woman’s Body Found Inside Bag Near Yard Of City Department Supervisor

Just before 2 p.m. today (Wednesday), Maryland State Police and the Aberdeen Police Department responded to the 400 block of Bush Chapel Road, just feet outside the city limits of Aberdeen, where a dead body was found inside a sleeping bag near the yard of a city department supervisor.

The body, apparently that of a black woman, was found somewhere in, around, near or on the yard of Aberdeen Department of Public Works Maintenance Shop Division Supervisor Roger Hall. The body was near enough to his property that Hall was at the scene, but he is not believed to be a suspect.

Although there was no immediate cause of death made public, police were treating it as “suspicious” and the word ”murder” was being used throughout the afternoon.

Here’s the Maryland State Police press release:

BODY FOUND IN HARFORD COUNTY

(Aberdeen, MD) - Maryland State Police are on the scene of what appears to be a suspicious death in Harford County after a body was found in a sleeping bag along a rural road not far from Interstate 95 earlier this afternoon.

The body has not been identified and can only be described as possibly that of an African American female. The body will be taken to the Office of the State Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.

At about 1:30 p.m. today, Maryland State Police at the Bel Air Barracks received a call from a passing motorist who reported a suspicious bag laying along the roadside in the 400-block of Bush Chapel Road in Aberdeen. Officers from the Aberdeen Police Department and troopers responded and found the body inside a sleeping bag.

The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit responded to the scene and is conducting the ongoing investigation with the assistance of troopers from the Bel Air Barracks. There is no further information available at this time. Anyone who may have any information pertaining to this investigation is urged to call the Maryland State Police at the Bel Air Barracks at 410-879-2101.

Cut This: What’s Going On Here?

It’s once again time to Cut This. Take a look at this odd picture we managed to dig up and post a caption of your own. Tell us what the subjects in the picture are thinking, or just give us a funny sentence about what’s going on. This one should be interesting….

 

Annexation Adoptions and City Code Amendments on Aberdeen’s Agenda

Four annexation requests and a pair of zoning code changes are scheduled before the Aberdeen City Council tonight (Monday) at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

The 952 Gilbert Road, LLC annexation plan could be adopted by the mayor and city council Monday night and resolutions to annex Paradise Meadows, Inc., Presbyterian Home of Maryland, Inc. and Vernon K. Johnson Trust Properties, and the Scotten Property are set for introduction. Continue reading Annexation Adoptions and City Code Amendments on Aberdeen’s Agenda

Who’s Pulling the Strings? Councilman Slutzky Asks Gov. O’Malley to Release Info on School Board Appointments

Gov. Martin O’Malley was misinformed. How else to explain the letter from his education adviser explaining it was O’Malley’s job to pick the candidates “he believed were the most highly qualified” for the Harford County Board of Education?

If the Governor thought his selections were the most eager, or had rallied the right political support; fair enough. But the most qualified? Continue reading Who’s Pulling the Strings? Councilman Slutzky Asks Gov. O’Malley to Release Info on School Board Appointments

Wasting Time: Jewels Of The Internet

When you actually work for a living one’s mind starts to wander. Sure, at first you’re focused and diligently plugging away at your job, but eventually everyone experiences the lull that hits after just a few months. It’s the same thing day in and day out. Repetition is beginning to kill you. So you start doing what pretty much everyone does nowadays: you turn to internet videos to get you through the day.

I recognize this, and therefore this is why each week I will select a video for your viewing pleasure. And I highly recommend you watch it at work. For the first week, I present you with two. The first one is a local commercial from Alabama by Sammy Stephens, who would love for you to visit his flea market… It’s just like a mini mall!

Now that you’ve seen that jewel of the internet, check out a video that makes the first one even better. It’s a comical remake of the mini mall rap. Hope you love it as much as I do.

Wow, it’s just amazing. I bet that’ll have everyone coming back for more! Until next week, you can find it on The Dagger. I’m talkin’ about The Dagger. It’s just like, it’s just like, it’s just like a news blog. Hey, hey!

The Dark Knight: Brightened By Ledger’s Painted Freak

Friday morning as 12:01 a.m. struck, theaters all over the United States started the official showings of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins. Highly anticipated because of Heath Ledger’s final performance and the hype that has been ramping up for months now, this film is set to break records at the box office. But is it all the hype says it is? Simply answered, no, even though I would give this film a B+ rating. Let me explain… Continue reading The Dark Knight: Brightened By Ledger’s Painted Freak

Bel Air Braves Battle Back To Represent Harford County In Ripken World Series

“It’s amazing, I mean, I’ve been dreaming of this since I was like six or seven. It’s great for the team, we’ve all wanted this all year and we’ve worked for this really hard,” says Sam Thornton, wide-eyed with anticipation.  The dream: playing in the Cal Ripken World Series.  The team: our very own Bel Air Braves.

It was an adrenaline-packed, emotionally-charged road for Bel Air as they earned their spot in the series by taking a chunk out of Emmorton’s aspirations to snatch the District V111 tournament. The battle was a nail-biter, but they took it in dramatic fashion, cementing their path on this yellow brick road. Continue reading Bel Air Braves Battle Back To Represent Harford County In Ripken World Series

A trip down Oriole batting stance memory lane

Do kids still imitate the batting stances of their favorite baseball players? I know when I was a kid, we used to see who could imitate Eddie Murray and Al Bumbry. Check out the guy in this video to see how close he gets…

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