Baltimore police identify man whose remains were found stuffed in storage container at vacant home

BALTIMORE -- Police have identified the remains of a man who was found stuffed in a storage container last week at a vacant house in West Baltimore.

Officers said the remains of 32-year-old Dustin Davis were found on Jan. 5 in the 3500 block of Holmes Avenue. Police are investigating the death as a homicide.

Police asked the public on Tuesday to help them identify the victim based on a sketch of several tattoos. 

Officers on duty in West Baltimore investigated a storage container that emitted a strong, foul odor. That's when they found the remains of a man, who was described by police as a man of color with long dread-locked hard and multiple tattoos.

The medical examiner determined on Friday that he had been stabbed.

"This is just crazy. I don't understand why someone would just kill someone and then leave them on the porch—and I walk by here every night when I go home," one neighborhood resident told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. She declined to give her name for safety reasons.   

Other neighborhood residents noted that a fire had torn through the building not too long ago, which had been divided into three apartments.

"I did smell something so I just figured a cat must have died," the neighborhood resident said. "There was a fire, glass all over the place."  

Davis was not reported missing prior to the discovery of his body, according to authorities.

On Wednesday, neighborhood residents began expressing their concerns about brazen crimes in the city.

One woman said that meaningful change starts with coming together as a community. 

"People are scared about retaliation, so they don't say anything, but not saying anything makes it worse," she said. "Somebody saw something, and they should say something." 

Anyone with information about the murder investigation should contact homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.

Anonymous tipsters can call Metro Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-866-7LOCK-UP.