By Chrisleen Herard,
Special to the AFRO
A Baltimore man was found dead in his home on Jan. 20 following a hostage crisis, a police standoff and a video that captured chilling confessions to several murders.
Baltimore authorities responded to a domestic call during the early morning of Jan. 20. Around 7:40 a.m., officers were sent to the 4800 block of Grenville Square, where they were able to get into communication with a 31-year-old Antonio Hart. When they realized there was a barricade situation, members of the Baltimore County Tactical and Hostage Negotiation Team were summoned to the scene.
According to Baltimore police, Hart refused to cooperate and informed them that he was equipped with a firearm.
Throughout the live, Hart was speaking belligerently to police, threatening to shoot if they attempted to enter the home and demanding to speak with a hostage negotiator to confess his alleged crimes. An injured woman can be heard in the background groaning.
“I’m turning blue. I’m not gonna live, Antonio,”she can be heard saying, as Hart asks her to tell his story if she survives.
Although details of the incident have yet to be officially released, the woman and suspect were allegedly in a relationship at some point. While authorities waited outside the suspect’s home, Hart was on TikTok live, documenting his final moments before he was found deceased.
Hart confessed on social media to multiple murders, including one that was committed in a “Hellraiser” mask on a Halloween night years before. Another man, named Sterlin Matthews, is currently serving a life sentence for the Halloween murder.
Due to the alleged nature of the woman’s attack, it is believed that Hart stabbed himself with the intention of taking his own life, as viewers can see a small open wound on his chest in the footage. The woman is reported to have suffered from several stab wounds, before being taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to family members on social media.
After the adult, female victim and three children were released, Hart went on to make his chilling confession, in which he admitted to allegedly committing multiple murders that date back to 2010.
“I’m dying today. I can’t take it no more. I watched everyone die around me,” Hart said. “Sterlin Matthews is doing a life sentence right now in Cumberland for somebody I killed on Halloween with a “Hellraiser” mask.”
“I had that Glock 17 and that .25 caliber that night that killed Dequan,” Hart continued. “I did that , 2010, Halloween. Lil Sterlin ain’t do that.”
On Oct. 25, 2012, almost two years after Dequan Burks’ death, Matthews, 19 at the time, was sentenced to 115 years for 11 counts of first-degree assault, three counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime and second-degree murder.
A witness claimed they spotted Matthews following Burks’ group of friends when they crossed a footbridge over the Baltimore-Washington Parkway before shots were fired. Authorities close to the investigation believed the incident may have been initiated due to a feud between the Cherry Hill and Baltimore Highland neighborhoods.
Matthews was initially offered a deal to serve 15 years, however he declined. His first trial ended in a hung jury, but the second trial, where it was revealed that Matthews allegedly attempted to intimidate witnesses, ended with his conviction. The jury spent less than an hour deliberating his case.
“The purpose of incarceration should not only be punishment and public safety, but it should also be rehabilitation,” William R. Buie III, Matthews’ attorney, said following the case. “This is a young man who made a very severe mistake in his life. However, he’s so young, there’s a possibility his life could be redeemed.”
However, after Hart’s confession, it has now come into question whether or not Matthews is serving a life sentence for a violent crime that he didn’t commit. Hart also admitted to four other alleged murders in 2011.
Members of the Burks family have declined to comment on Hart’s confession while they seek legal aid from the district attorney and want to refrain from speaking on the case too soon.
The AFRO also reached out to Matthews’ defense attorney but has received no response.
An autopsy report for Harts’ death is currently pending and the police are said to be investigating the incident along with his claims.
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