Former Morgan University Student Found Guilty in 2022 Killing of Security Guard

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A jury returned a guilty verdict in the murder trial of Chase Marco Wilson on July 26 in connection to the Aug. 31, 2022 killing of 19-year-old security guard Julian Fruh before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Gregory Sampson.

“This is not a self-defense case,” the assistant state’s attorney began in her closing argument hours before the jury came to their decision.

She argued that Wilson, 20, who was a Morgan State University student, would have known that Fruh was unarmed. She replayed CCTV footage of the incident where she said the muzzle of Wilson’s gun flashed even while Fruh was already on the ground.

She implored the jury to “assess [Wilson’s] credibility” since he changed his story on what he did with the murder weapon four times, including in his testimony.

Defense attorney Brian McDaniel similarly questioned the credibility of an eyewitness, Fruh’s friend, who admitted for the first time on the stand that Fruh initiated the confrontation by punching Wilson. McDaniel claimed that Fruh punching Wilson would make Fruh the aggressor in the incident and would justify Wilson acting in self-defense.

McDaniel’s theory of the case was that Fruh and his friend met with Wilson under the false pretense of purchasing a quarter-pound of marijuana in order to rob him. This theory was substantiated by text messages from the victim with differing descriptions of the marijuana’s quality to both Wilson and his friend.

In a press release, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said of the case, “I hope this conviction sends a strong message to anyone seeking to perpetrate violence, especially on our college campuses, that you will face life-altering consequences for your actions.”

Wilson was found guilty of second-degree murder, use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and having a handgun on his person. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 12.