Jury selection began March 2 in the trial of Sherrice Erica Parker, 37, after the defendant declined a plea offer and moved to admit several new pieces of evidence into trial proceedings before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong.
Parker is charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon in connection to the fatal stabbing of 46-year-old Donte Chase, which occurred June 30, 2025 on the 700 block of N. Kenwood Avenue. Southeast District officers arrived at the scene around 11:09 p.m. and transported Chase to a nearby hospital, where he later passed away.
Several days later, on July 3, Parker surrendered to homicide detectives.
During the hearing on Monday, prosecutors offered Parker a plea of life, suspending all but 30 years of time, followed by five years of supervised probation. She declined the proposal. If found guilty at trial, Parker could receive a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Following her rejection, Parker requested the court’s authorization to summon five more witnesses for trial—her sister, mother, cousin, friend and ex-boyfriend.
Parker also attempted to admit into evidence a 34-second video from several years prior to the incident that allegedly captured Chase making menacing comments toward her. The speaker reportedly told the defendant, “You know what my record looks like,” “You know what I can do,” and, “I will put you in a box.”
Judge Hong ruled the video inadmissible, stating it was “too remote” in time to be relevant to the June 2025 incident.
The last piece of evidence Parker moved to admit was a letter from a mental health treatment center she had attended since April 2024 for post-traumatic stress disorder and related mental health issues. Prosecutors claimed the letter, which reportedly detailed the defendant’s treatment history, had no relevance to her charges. Judge Hong ultimately rejected the letter, but ruled that Parker could provide testimony about her state of mind at trial.
The state’s attorney then asked Judge Hong for an administrative postponement, to meet with Parker’s suggested witnesses. The prosecution had reportedly requested the services of a detective to investigate the witnesses, but did not have addresses or contact details to do so. Judge Hong rejected the request and ordered counsel to proceed with jury selection.
Trial proceedings are expected to continue through the week.
