Human Remains Found In Westminster In 2019 Identified As Baltimore County Man Killed In 2015, Police Say
GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WJZ) -- Human remains found in Westminster last year have been identified as a Baltimore County man who was killed after disappearing in 2015, the Anne Arundel County Police Department said Friday.
The remains were found on March 30, 2019, and later determined to be human. This month, officials said they were determined to be the remains of 50-year-old Mark Edward Hatmaker of Halethorpe.
Hatmaker went missing on November 24, 2015, after going to meet another man, Richard Brooks, in Glen Burnie as part of a drug transaction, police said.
At the time, Brooks denied being involved in Hatmaker's disappearance, though detectives later learned Brooks had another person rent him a U-Haul truck because he didn't have a credit card. During the transaction, he also bought tape, heavy duty bags and a tarp, police said.
When detectives searched the truck, police said they found what appeared to be a large amount of human blood using an alternative light source and luminol despite the truck having been cleaned. Officials also found blood in Brooks' RV. The blood in both vehicles was later determined to be Hatmaker's.
READ MORE: Man Charged With Murder; Victim's Body Has Not Been Found
Police arrested Brooks, of Odenton, in 2016.
In 2018, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
