A Baltimore woman was found guilty of all counts in the 2024 murder of 33-year-old Jasmine Simuel before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong on Nov. 20.
Teresa Collins, 40, was convicted of first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and firearm possession with a disqualifying felony conviction.
The verdict was rendered, just hours after counsel delivered closing arguments about a recovered firearm, incriminating phone data, and hours of surveillance footage that captured the Penn North homicide.
The prosecution urged jurors to focus on the surveillance footage that was gathered from several angles along the 2700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on Sept. 22, 2024. In one video, Simuel was seen dancing near Collins moments before the prosecutor said tensions escalated. Collins, wearing a bright blue wig, a striped bikini top, and an Adidas fanny pack, was repeatedly captured holding or adjusting what appeared to be a handgun.
Other footage showed Collins brandishing a firearm at Simuel and another individual before following Simuel around a corner, out of view of the cameras. Moments later, Collins returned and appeared to place the weapon back into her fanny pack. According to the state, cell site data from Collins’ phone also placed her at the approximate location at 9:04 p.m., the estimated time of the shooting.
Jurors were shown photographs from the crime scene where responding officers attempted life-saving measures before Simuel was pronounced dead in the street. Detectives documented cartridge casings and recovered surveillance footage from nearby businesses.
The prosecution told jurors that Collins later acknowledged details of the incident during recorded jail calls, allegedly saying that “someone had to have told on her,” that “it was a bunch of us,” and that “they even got the joint,” which detectives interpreted as referring to the firearm. Investigators also said Collins had screenshots on her phone of online articles describing a woman shot on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Several days after the shooting, officers arrested Collins at her residence. During the search, detectives recovered a bag containing a blue wig, the bikini top, the fanny pack, a handgun, and ammunition — items the state claimed match what Collins wore in the footage.
Defense attorney Arthur Baker argued that the state failed to meet its burden, emphasizing that none of the videos showed the shooting itself. Baker insisted that prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence and criticized the investigation for not interviewing more people seen outside during the incident.
“They want you to guess,” he told jurors. “That is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Baker questioned why detectives did not swab the firearm for DNA and said the cell site data merely showed Collins’ phone within the neighborhood where she lives. He urged jurors to consider whether the events shown on video amounted to intentional, premeditated murder.
In rebuttal, the prosecution reminded jurors the case rests not on speculation about investigative decisions, but on what is clearly shown in the footage and recorded calls.
“They want you to believe the detective didn’t do his job,” the state argued, “yet you can see exactly what she was doing, wearing, and holding that night.”
Collins has not yet received a sentencing date.
