Remains found in container left outside church identified as missing 75-year-old Baltimore woman

BALTIMORE (TCD) -- Officials positively identified the human remains located inside a container near a church as those of a 75-year-old woman who has not been seen since October.

WBAL-TV reports the Medical Examiner’s Office determined Versey Spell died by homicide, but her cause of death was not shared.

Spell was reported missing to Baltimore Police Oct. 19, and was last seen on the 3900 block of Berrington Road. Police said she used a walker or cane, and listed her as a "vulnerable adult."

Spell’s sister Bettea Brown-Wilson told WMAR-TV Spell’s landlord’s brother went to her home to check on her and saw it "had been broken into upstairs and downstairs, and my sister was missing from the house."

Brown-Wilson said, "They just destroyed her apartment completely. Everything was all over the place."

A stranger was reportedly sleeping in Spell’s bed, and the stranger allegedly told the landlord’s brother that her "friend brought me here."

When the brother told her to leave, the woman "jumped up, pushed him, and ran out of the front door."

According to WMAR, Spell lived with lupus and polio, but her cane and walker were still at her home even though she was nowhere to be found. Her television and other personal items were also reportedly taken.

On March 7, officers from Baltimore Police Department’s Northwest District went to the 3900 block of Liberty Heights Avenue and learned about a black container with human remains inside that had been found in the curtilage of the 3400 block of Garrison Boulevard. The remains were transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office, and homicide detectives began investigating.

WMAR reports Spell previously worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also spent time as an usher at Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles play. The Orioles wrote in a statement following news of her death, "We are saddened to hear of the passing of long-time Orioles usher, Versey Spell. Our Orioles family sends heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. We will miss her warm welcomes at the ballpark."

MORE:

• Human remains found in container identified as 75-year-old woman reported missing in October - WBAL
• Remains found in abandoned container, identified as missing 75-year-old Versey Spell - WMAR
• Family speaks amid vigil tonight for missing 75-year-old woman, 11/2/2022 - WMAR
• Missing Vulnerable Adult, 10/21/2022 - Baltimore Police Department
• Media Advisories: March 8, 2023 - Baltimore Police Department