Bel Air, Maryland – A 73-year-old White grandmother was stabbed to death last Thursday, after trying to intervene in an argument between her granddaughter and her Black boyfriend.

According to court documents, 24-year-old Angelo Terrell Spencer—who is Black—was identified as the ex-boyfriend of Mary Catherine Bland’s 17-year-old granddaughter. The documents alleged Spencer had used a glass cutter and pocketknife he bought at Home Depot, using them to break inside Bland’s residence prior to ringing the front doorbell.

Court records indicate the 6’5 300-pound Spencer then had an exchange with Bland who answered the door before pushing his way inside the house.

The document, initially obtained by 11 News, goes on to state, “Spencer pushed into the house. Mary Bland yelled, Spencer then stabbed Mary Bland in the shoulder. Spencer claims he panicked and then continued to stab Mary Bland multiple times.”

“I think it was an interaction where it was, ‘You need to get out!’ That kind of thing, and he reacted in a very psychotic and disgusting way,” Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore told WMAR. “Yes, and used a knife to stab and kill her. Likely, dozens of stab wounds.”

After stabbing the elderly Bland approximately 25 times, Police alleged Spencer then sexually assaulted the teenage girl upstairs before leaving the premises. Officers were called around 2:48 p.m. to the residence located in the Homestead Village neighborhood, where both victims were found and taken to the hospital. The granddaughter was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, while Bland succumbed to her injuries shortly afterward.

“We know that it was him inside the residence. He was identified, walked away from the residence,” Police Chief Moore relayed to WBAL.

Authorities apprehended Spencer outside of his home in Abingdon within 90 minutes of the call and now faces charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and two counts of first-degree assault. The judge presiding over the case denied bail, deeming him a threat to the community. Currently, he is being held at the Harford County Detention Center. Despite the charges, Spencer denied sexually assaulting the 17-year-old girl but said that he did grab her around her neck during the attack.

The brutality of the murder shocked members of the public who spoke with local media about the impact Bland had on her community.

"Cathy was a selfless nurse, selfless mom and grandmom," Dina Boebel, a neighbor, recounted to 11 News, adding that Bland and her husband had lived in the neighborhood for years.

"She was such a nice woman, Christian, church-involved, always taking care of other people, and the last person who deserves something like this. Her granddaughter… I just feel so bad for the family,” Anthony Macre, another of Bland’s neighbors, explained. “For them to go through something like this in our small little community, it’s a nightmare. Honestly. A nightmare, but thankfully, they got him instantly, and I wish nothing, but the worst for this man.”

The police chief offered his own personal remarks on the case: "If we could figure out what gets in the mind of these deranged people—these despicable people—that drives them to do something so disgusting like this, I wish we could figure it out."

One of Spencer’s co-workers, Charlotte Green, attended his hearing last Friday in support, even expressing disbelief over the accusations against him: “Something had to make him snap. I’m getting ready to cry,” Green told WBAL-TV. “He’s full of life, and he’s too young for this to happen, and he’s going to ruin his life if he’s found guilty.”

According to results from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Bel Air, Maryland, has a current population of 10,661, with Whites standing at a robust 81.2%. They are flanked by a growing Black population (4.4%), and due to its proximity to the cities of Abingdon and Baltimore—which are located approximately seven miles southeast and 25 miles northeast, respectively—puts things into futher perspective. In these areas, the largest racial composition clocks in at 48.5% White, followed by the Black population at a notable 38.7%.

The savage murder of Mary Catherine Bland highlights the particular vulnerability elderly White people face in a nation gripped by unfettered Black violence. In Connecticut, 63-year-old Joyce Grayson—a White grandmother and nurse—was found dead in the basement of a halfway house where a violent Black sex offender had resided.

“For them to go through something like this in our small little community, it’s a nightmare. Honestly. A nightmare, but thankfully, they got him instantly, and I wish nothing, but the worst for this man.”

Anthony Macre, victim's neighbor

White Americans who engage in interracial relationships increasingly run the risk of seemingly unprovoked Black violence and death. In December, a Black man was arrested after his White girlfriend’s toddler was found dead inside a canvas bag, with authorities noting the horrific injuries inflicted on the 2-year-old’s face, head, and groin.

In May of the same year, the body of a 15-year-old White teenage girl was found in the dumpster of an apartment complex in Dekalb, Illinois. A 29-year-old Black registered sex offender who had allegedly groomed the teenager was eventually charged with her murder.

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