A 69-year-old woman was found stabbed to death inside the Maryland church her family had worshiped at for generations.
According to news reports, Evelyn Player was found inside the Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore, Maryland, this week.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the crime against her was an “unspeakable, cowardly murder.”
“This is not OK,” he said. “None of us should be OK. Her family is four generations strong at Southern … Solving this unfathomable, unthinkable cowardly act is now priority number one for the Baltimore Police Department.”
Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison told reporters that Player, who volunteers at the church, came to the church about 6 a.m. Tuesday to unlock the doors and allow contractors inside to work on renovations the church is undergoing.
“Somewhere around 6:50 a.m., we know she was found inside of the bathroom there in her work area dead, where she had been attacked,” he said.
According to The Christian Post, a church employee found Player’s body and called the police shortly after.
“I am with the mayor. If somebody saw something, heard something or knows something, please call us right away,” Harrison said.
The mayor said in his statement that he hoped anyone who knew anything about the murder would come forward.
“I don’t care if this person is your son, your husband, your boyfriend, your daughter, your uncle, your aunt,” he said. “You should turn this person in because if we’re OK with someone this cowardly murdering someone that could be your grandmother, that could be someone else’s grandmother, then what are we willing to stand up for?”
Player’s daughter, Alethea Finch, said her mother was a devoted church member and a retired office worker.
“Who would want to hurt my mother?” Finch said. “How could someone hurt someone in such a sacred place? My heart’s broken into a million pieces. I don’t understand why this happened.”
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Tetra Images
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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