Teresa Collins‘ murder trial began on Nov. 18 with opening statements and surveillance evidence before Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Jeannie J. Hong.
Collins, 40, is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and firearm possession with a disqualifying felony conviction in connection to the death of 33-year-old Jasmine Simuel.
The shooting occurred outside a liquor store on the 2700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue on Sept. 22, 2024. Surveillance footage allegedly showed a woman with bright blue hair, a denim jacket, and a black-and-white bikini top pulling a handgun from a fanny pack and pointing it at people nearby.
Although the video did not capture the moment of the shooting, footage showed Simuel fleeing the scene while wounded as the armed woman gave chase.
Police later said they identified the woman as Collins after a departmental flyer seeking information on the suspect was circulated through email.
An officer with the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) told jurors he immediately recognized the woman on the flyer as “Tessa,” someone he had known since childhood who frequently walked along Pennsylvania Avenue and dressed in a distinctive style.
During a search of Collins’ rooming house, detectives allegedly recovered a loaded firearm, a bright blue wig, and a black-and-white bikini top consistent with the outfit in the footage. The weapon used to carry out the shooting allegedly shared significant characteristics with the gun seized from Collins’ home.
The state proclaimed that Collins shot Simuel “for no reason whatsoever.”
Defense attorney Arthur Baker countered that the state had no direct evidence linking Collins to the killing. He reminded jurors that the surveillance footage does not show the actual shooting, only the events before and after. He also questioned why detectives did not retrieve video footage from nearby businesses or CitiWatch cameras and noted that police interviewed no bystanders.
According to Baker, the prosecution’s evidence is entirely circumstantial.
“The standard here is not an educational guess,” he remarked. “It’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The trial is scheduled to continue this week with additional witness testimony.
