Baltimore Man Begins Bench Trial After Fatal Stabbing

By Tyler Parkes [former] - May 3, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

A Baltimore man accused of murder began his bench trial on May 2 before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Jones.

Eric Nash, 37, is charged with first-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon with intent to injure in connection to an event that occured at the 200 block of South Ballou Court around 7 p.m. on November 9, 2020. 

Nash confessed to stabbing victim John Noel when officers arrived at the scene and directed them to the body. He stated that the stabbing was in self defense. 

According to the prosecutor, officers found the body of Noel covered in blood in a bathtub upstairs in the residence. The medical examiner later found 74 stab wounds on the body.

One of Nash’s defense attorneys, Janet Anderson, laid out the sequence of events that led to the stabbing and outlined why it was in self defense in opening statements.

Noel was the ex-boyfriend of Nash’s roommate and did not live at the residence, she said. Noel was not invited in and was allegedly under the influence of many different drugs. He plotted to steal a jacket from the roommate’s current boyfriend, who was living at the residence. The victim allegedly asked Nash to help in steal the jacket but then threatened his life when Nash refused.

Nash and Noel got into a physical confrontation within the residence, according to Anderson.

She argued that the majority of the wounds on Noel’s back indicated that he was on top of Nash during the struggle. 

According to the first responding officer, Nash was cooperative with the police after they arrived. 

The second and final witness of the day was a crime technician who testified about the process used to collect DNA evidence from the scene.

Nash’s trial is scheduled to continue on May 3.