Defendant Receives 30-Year Sentence for Fatal Stabbing During Family Dispute

By Amina Thiam [former] - October 18, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

Multiple family members for both the defendant and the victim gave emotional impact statements on Oct. 17 during the sentencing hearing of Karl Leonard Anderson, who was charged with the murder of 44-year-old Bernard Richardson. 

According to court documents, the violent stabbing occurred on the 3300 block of Burleith Avenue on Nov. 23, 2020, at 7:30 am. Police arrived at the scene around 15 minutes. The victim succumbed to his injuries at the hospital after sustaining three fatal stab wounds. 

Anderson, 41, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, receiving a plea of 30 years in prison with five years supervised probation before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Lynn Stewart Mays. He was also charged with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to injure. 

During the sentencing, Judge Mays sternly imposed a no-contact order between Anderson and the mother of his child, who is also the victim’s widow.

Video surveillance of the incident played in court was provided to investigators by Richardson’s wife. She called the police after Anderson stabbed Richardson from behind with a black trench knife as he was running up the porch steps of their family home. 

Anderson told Judge Mays that he was concerned for the welfare of his child, whom he suspected was being abused by Richardson, the child’s stepfather. Anderson’s suspicions led to a confrontation between him and the victim, who had previously had a cordial relationship with him by all other accounts. 

Anderson’s brother and grandmother testified on his behalf, explaining that he was a committed family man who took his young son to church and volunteered in his community. 

Members of the Richardson family, who still maintained contact with Anderson’s two older children from a previous marriage, said they were heartbroken by the pain and suffering the murder has caused their blended family.

“We are still traumatized,” Richardson’s widow said tearfully on the stand. “I am asking the court to seek the most severe sentence for Karl Anderson. He is a menace to society.” 

Multiple relatives of the victim also testified Anderson’s son developed symptoms of PTSD. According to his mother, the pain and stigma of how his stepfather was murdered have irrevocably harmed their entire family. 

Richardson, who was known to his family as Shallah, had married his wife in August of 2020 and was described as a role model to his kids and to his stepson in a statement written by his ex-wife. “He was a peaceful, quiet family man who loved his children. Anything less than life is not justice,” she stated regarding Anderson’s sentence. 

“I’m only out here to protect my son,” proclaimed Anderson. “I’m not a violent person. My son has been deteriorating before my eyes, not since 2020, but since 2015.” He told the court he was experiencing trauma over discovering his son’s abuse at the time of the murder and that the incident was out of character for him. “I understand that justice must be served. I just ask for understanding as a parent,” he said to Judge Mays. 

Judge Mays told Anderson she understood the emotions of a father but that his actions against Richardson, who took care of his child, were premeditated and unjustified. “You exhibited extreme indifference for the life of another human being,” she stated. “A picture is worth a thousand words. A video is worth a million.”