Family, police still searching for answers in 19-year-old homicide case
Who Killed Denise Horsey?
SALISBURY, Md. – For almost 20 years, the community has been asking, who killed Denise Horsey?
And her daughter, Alisha has been searching for an answer herself, all these years later.
“We need help solving my mom’s case. Just think, if it was your mother and you were in my shoes, what would you want someone to do?” asked Alisha.
Her mother’s murder rocked Salisbury and has stuck with police through the years. Detective Devin Fairman with the Salisbury Police Department said the fatal stabbing happened on an early Saturday morning.
“April 8th, 2006, Salisbury Police Department got a 911 call for a female in the alleyway, on the 300 block of Naylor St., screaming for help,” said Fairman.
“The Salisbury Police Department arrived and found a lady lying unconscious in that alleyway, suffering from multiple stab wounds. She was transported to the hospital and later died of the injuries,” he added.
Surely, someone in the close-knit Church Street community should have heard Denise crying for help, or seen the person who stabbed her five times and left her for dead in that alleyway.
But nearly two decades have passed, and no arrests have been made. Lieutenant Brandon Caton believes the answers that law enforcement needs may lie in the community’s hands.
“We’ve been talking to a lot of people, and it still seems very fresh with the people we talk to, which would make you think, yeah, it’s stuck with a lot of people,” said Caton.
Time may have continued, but life froze for Alisha. Losing Denise had a ripple effect on her entire family, and friends, who affectionately knew her as Niecey.
“It’s hard to explain, because I’m her daughter, and I still have my moments where I’m just sad and be wanting her to be here, and I know I can’t have her here anymore,” said Alisha.
But the evidence collected back in 2006 has benefited from technological advancements over the years. Caton said now, all they need is that one person to come forward.
“They may not even know it; they may not know the investigation is still open and active, so sharing too much information is tough. But yeah, I believe somebody knows,” said Caton.
“She was somebody’s mother. She has children out here, she has grandchildren out here that has to live without a mother or grandmother, so take it seriously, as if it was one of your loved ones,” Alisha added.
If you have any information on the Denise Horsey’s murder, police urge you to call them at 410-548-3165. Or you can submit a tip anonymously through Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477.
