To: The Honorable Scott D. Shellenberger
Baltimore County State’s Attorney

Copy to: Ms. Sarah David
State's Attorney-Elect for Baltimore County

Subject: Petition for Renewed Review and Justice for Bernadette Stevenson Caruso

We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office to conduct a comprehensive and independent prosecutorial review of the disappearance and presumed death of Bernadette Stevenson Caruso.

September 27, 2026, will mark forty years since Bernadette disappeared.

On Saturday, September 27, 1986, Bernadette left her job at Shaw’s Jewelers in Eastpoint Mall and was never seen or heard from again. Her vehicle—a gray-green 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier bearing Maryland registration FYW 097—also disappeared and has never been recovered.

Bernadette was only twenty-three years old and the devoted mother of a three-year-old daughter. She was also the youngest of seven children in a close-knit family. She had plans for her future and was working toward creating a safer, more stable life for herself and her daughter. Her disappearance was completely out of character.

At the time, Bernadette was separated from her husband and awaiting the conclusion of a troubled and volatile marriage. Family members have long maintained that she had experienced domestic violence and threats during that relationship. According to records and witness accounts provided to investigators, Bernadette had sought to reopen previously filed domestic-violence charges and was expected to testify concerning those allegations shortly after she disappeared.

Coworkers reportedly told investigators that Bernadette received repeated telephone calls from her estranged husband at work on the day she vanished. According to those accounts, Bernadette indicated that she intended to meet him to determine what he wanted. She was never seen or heard from again.

These circumstances warranted—and still warrant—the highest level of investigative and prosecutorial scrutiny.

Bernadette’s family has also raised longstanding concerns about potential conflicts of interest during the original investigation. These concerns include the reported assignment of a former coworker of Bernadette’s estranged husband to aspects of her case, as well as questions surrounding his departure from the Baltimore County Police Department and his subsequent employment in law enforcement.

We recognize that allegations are not proof and that charging decisions must be based upon admissible evidence and the applicable legal standard. Nevertheless, the seriousness of these circumstances, together with the passage of nearly forty years, demands a fresh, objective and transparent review.

The absence of Bernadette’s remains does not, by itself, prevent a homicide prosecution. Baltimore County has previously secured convictions in no-body homicide cases, including the prosecutions of Dennis Tetso for the death of Tracey Gardner-Tetso and Jason Gross for the death of Rochelle Battle.

More recently, on April 20, 2026, a Baltimore County grand jury indicted Dwight “DJ” Rust Jr. for first-degree murder in connection with the 2002 disappearance of his wife, Michelle Rust, whose remains have never been recovered. That pending case demonstrates that the passage of time and the absence of a victim’s body do not necessarily prevent prosecutors from seeking accountability when the evidence supports doing so.

We are not asking the State’s Attorney’s Office to disregard constitutional protections, evidentiary requirements or prosecutorial ethics. We are asking that Bernadette’s case receive the same determined, modern and independent consideration afforded to other long-term missing-person and no-body homicide cases.

For nearly forty years, Bernadette’s family has lived without answers. Her mother, Patricia Stevenson, searched for her daughter for thirty-seven years and died in 2024 without learning what happened to her. Bernadette has now been missing longer than she was alive. Her daughter grew up without her mother, and her siblings, relatives and friends have endured four decades of grief and uncertainty.

Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office:

 1. Conduct a complete, independent prosecutorial review of Bernadette’s case;
 2. Assign an experienced homicide or cold-case prosecutor who has no prior connection to the original investigation;
 3. Convene a formal case conference involving the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Baltimore County Police Department’s Homicide and Missing Persons Unit, and any appropriate outside experts;
 4. Review all original reports, recordings, witness statements, personnel records, physical evidence and prior investigative decisions;
 5. Determine whether preserved evidence can be examined using modern forensic technology;
 6. Reinterview surviving witnesses and evaluate any inconsistencies or previously uncorroborated statements;
 7. Consider presenting the evidence to a Baltimore County grand jury if the legally required evidentiary standard can be met;
 8. Consider requesting assistance from an independent county, state or federal agency if potential conflicts of interest remain; and
 9. Provide Bernadette’s family with a written response explaining what review will be undertaken, consistent with the confidentiality requirements of an active investigation.

Domestic violence was not recognized or addressed in 1986 with the urgency it receives today. The Violence Against Women Act and subsequent Maryland reforms reflect a greater understanding of the dangers faced by people attempting to leave abusive relationships. Bernadette deserved those protections then, and she deserves determined advocacy now.

Bernadette Stevenson Caruso was a real person—not merely a case number or a statistic. She was a young mother, daughter, sister and friend. She was loved, she had plans, and she had every reason to live.

When a victim’s voice has been silenced, the public must help speak for her.

Today, we are speaking for Bernadette. We respectfully ask Baltimore County to demonstrate that time does not erase accountability and that her life still matters.

After nearly forty years, Bernadette and her family deserve answers. We ask the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office to review the complete evidence, pursue every legally available avenue and seek justice wherever the facts lead.

Justice delayed must not become justice permanently denied.

Respectfully submitted,

The undersigned family members, friends, advocates and concerned citizens seeking justice for Bernadette Stevenson Caruso