The Baltimore County Police Department identified the victims of a double homicide in Middle River as 75-year-old Iona Sellers and 29-year-old Autumn Harvey. They were grandmother and granddaughter, according to a family member.
At around 9:50 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to the unit block of Taos Circle for a check location call. The two women were found with blunt-force trauma to their upper bodies, according to Baltimore County Police spokesperson Trae Corbin. Both were declared dead at the scene.
By 6 p.m. Sunday evening, officers still were examining the scene behind police tape around a house near the intersection of Taos Circle and Pawnee Road.
Harvey lived with her grandmother, and was described by her aunt, Shannon Mclaughlin, as having “an infectious laugh and an even brighter smile.”
“Her beauty captivated everyone, she was kind, sweet and loved animals,” Mclaughlin said in a statement to The Baltimore Sun. “Most importantly she loved her family.”
Melissa Muth remembered Harvey as being her Valentine in 10th grade, hanging out a few times that year. The two recently reconnected on Facebook where Muth posted wishing they could have spent more time together.
“She was the sweetest girl, shy, and smart, and full of this bright ray of sunshine,” Muth said in a statement.
Sellers was about to turn 76 in a few weeks, according to Mclaughlin, who remembered her giving personality.
“She was so caring, she fed the homeless, helped anyone in need,” Mclaughlin said in the statement. “There was no such thing as meeting a stranger with her, she was that kind.”
The investigation is ongoing and Mclaughlin urged anyone with information to reach out to the Baltimore County Police or call the anonymous tip line. The family will not stop until Harvey and Sellers receive justice, she said.
“We do know it was a brutal homicide that was so senseless and this family will not stop until the person or persons are caught for this senseless crime,” Mclaughlin said. “They have no idea how devastated this whole family is.”
Anyone with information can contact Baltimore County Police detectives at 410-307-2020
Baltimore Sun reporters Cassidy Jensen and Dillon Mullan contributed to this article.
