Man accused of killing Middle River grandmother and granddaughter ordered to remain in Baltimore jail – Baltimore Sun

A man accused of killing a Middle River grandmother and her granddaughter in July remains in a Baltimore jail while awaiting two separate murder trials.

Baltimore County police last week arrested and charged 36-year-old Bryan Cherry with the first-degree murder of 75-year-old Iona Sellers and her 29-year-old granddaughter, Autumn Harvey. Officers found the two women dead in a Middle River home during a welfare check on July 7. Cherry also faces murder charges in connection with the death of another woman in Baltimore, and is charged with attempted murder in a separate city case.

On Tuesday, Cherry waived his right to a bail review, Assistant Public Defender Monika Scherer told Baltimore County District Court Judge Dorothy J. Wilson. Wilson ordered him held without bail. He is due back in court on Sept. 20 for a preliminary hearing.

Cherry is suspected of stabbing a man who was handing out medical supplies outside East Baltimore Medical Center in late June. Witnesses and the man, a hospital worker who was stabbed eight times, said nothing prompted Cherry to attack him.

Baltimore police obtained an arrest warrant for Cherry on attempted murder on July 1, two weeks before 38-year-old Sierra Johnson was found dead in her Oldtown home with signs of blunt force trauma.

Police arrested Cherry in connection with Johnson's killing after an anonymous caller told investigators that Cherry walked out of Johnson's apartment, where a woman was heard screaming, and that there was “possibly blood” on his clothing. Since his arrest in mid-July, he has been held in a Baltimore jail, where he faces first-degree murder charges in connection with Johnson's death.

Autumn Harvey's aunt said the 29-year-old had “an infectious laugh and an even brighter smile” and described Harvey's grandmother Sellers as a caring person who helped those in need. Both women were found with blunt force injuries and Harvey had “numerous stab wounds.”

County police found a cigarette on a plastic lawn chair directly under a half-open window outside Sellers' Taos Circle home. Forensic testing showed the cigarette's DNA matched Cherry's, charging documents say.

Investigators linked Cherry to the Middle River murders using Sellers' bank account information and surveillance footage from stores where her missing credit card was used. Police wrote in the charging documents that the surveillance footage showed a man picking up a prescription for a woman identified as an “associate” of Cherry.

According to county police, Cherry was arrested in Baltimore on July 14 for “an unrelated murder.” At the time of his arrest, he was wearing a pair of white Adidas shoes that police said were identical to those seen on video surveillance.