The 26-year-old mother and business owner was killed outside a Catonsville salon in 2022.
CATONSVILLE, MD — Diamond Trueheart’s mother is asking for justice more than four years after her daughter was shot to death outside a Catonsville shopping plaza on Jan. 13, 2022, in a case Baltimore County police say remains open.
Trueheart, a University of Maryland graduate, small business owner and mother of a young child, was killed in the parking lot near Salontra Suites on Baltimore National Pike. Her mother, Nicole Jackson, said the loss still shapes every day for the family. The renewed plea comes as detectives continue to seek information about two people police say approached from a dark-colored sedan before the shooting.
Jackson and Trueheart both worked at the salon complex in Catonsville Plaza. Jackson said the day of the shooting was not a normal workday for her daughter. “No one even should have known she was going to be there, because it wasn’t a day where she was working,” Jackson said. Police were called shortly before 1 p.m. to the 5400 block of Baltimore National Pike after reports of gunfire. Officers found Trueheart suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She died at the scene, in a busy commercial area where other vehicles were parked nearby.
Baltimore County Police Detective Jason Metz, who was on the scene that day and has continued to work the case, said Trueheart and Jackson were walking to their car around midday when two people stepped out of a dark-colored sedan. Metz said one person chased Jackson, looked at her and returned to the car, while the second person chased Trueheart through the parking lot while firing. “Diamond had nothing to do with anything and to be targeted in a parking lot and just ruthlessly killed like that, there has to be somebody out there that knows something about it,” Metz said. Police have not announced a motive.
Investigators later found the car they believe was tied to the shooting, Metz said. It was discovered about a week after the killing and had been set on fire. Police said DNA evidence led detectives to someone who may have had knowledge of the killing, but that lead did not move the case forward enough to bring charges. Earlier in the investigation, police released video of suspected shooters and said they were seeking help identifying two people. Investigators also described the vehicle used in the shooting as a dark-colored 2000 Acura TL. No arrests have been announced.
The killing drew concern from people who worked, shopped and lived near the plaza. Witnesses and nearby residents described the shooting as shocking for a commercial area along Route 40. Keisha Harold, of Catonsville, said at the time that the area did not usually see violence like that. “It’s shocking,” Harold said. Another Catonsville resident, Andre Coleman, called the shooting scary. In 2023, Trueheart’s uncle, Cedrick Holloway, said the family wanted peace and answers. He said Trueheart and another relative were leaving work when gunfire broke out and the two ran in different directions.
Police have said the shooting happened while patrons were in the parking lot and that people nearby may have seen something important. In May 2022, Metro Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest. Baltimore County police said detectives were still following leads and trying to determine the motive behind the homicide. The case later became part of renewed public appeals as detectives sought new witnesses, new information and help identifying the people shown in video connected to the investigation.
Jackson described her daughter as her best friend and said they had grown up together because Jackson became a mother at 15. She said Trueheart graduated from college, started a business and was a strong mother. “She graduated from college, she started her own business, she was a great mom,” Jackson said. The family’s public plea has centered on closure and accountability. “I don’t wish it on anyone at all,” Jackson said. “This was a horrible nightmare that I have to live with for the rest of my life. And we just want justice for her, and for our family.”
The homicide remains under investigation. Baltimore County police have continued to ask for information in the Jan. 13, 2022, killing, with detectives focused on identifying who carried out the shooting and why Trueheart was targeted.
Author note: Last updated June 21, 2026.