Retrial Ends in Life Sentence for Joppa Man Who Fatally Stabbed Maryland National Guardsman

The retrial of a Joppa man for a 2019 fatal nightclub stabbing of a Maryland Nation Guardsman has ended with the same result as his first trial — a sentence of life in prison.

Joshua Edwards, 35, of Joppa, stabbed and killed David Bryan Collins Jr., 32, on Dec. 21, 2019, outside the now-closed Excape Nite Club on Pulaski Highway in Middle River.

Both men were at the nightclub celebrating that night. Collins was with a group celebrating the upcoming birth of a friend’s baby; Edwards was celebrating getting a raise from his job as a forklift operator.

Police said Edwards became angry after Collins bumped him with a door as Collins and his friends exited the building. Edwards, who had been outside smoking, challenged Collins to a fight.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Stacy Mayer said surveillance video showed Edwards retrieving a knife from a car while his back was turned to Collins and his friends. Edwards then approached the group, opened his coat and kept his hand in his pocket, “as if to signal that he was, in fact, unarmed when soliciting the victim to fight,” Mayer said.

Prosecutors said Edwards lured Collins to a grassy area for what Collins believed would be a fistfight, then quickly stabbed and cut him 42 times. Edwards severed one of his own fingers during the attack.

Edwards was convicted of first-degree murder and carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure in December 2022. But the Appellate Court of Maryland later overturned the convictions, ruling that jurors should not have heard incriminating statements Edwards made during a police interrogation after he asked for an attorney and was not provided one.

The appeals court found that Edwards had not validly waived his Miranda rights, despite signing a form indicating that he understood those rights and was willing to speak with investigators.

At his retrial in April, Edwards was again convicted of first-degree murder. The jury acquitted him of the weapons charge.

At the sentencing hearing Monday, Collins’ family members spent nearly an hour telling Mayer about the impact his death has had on their lives. They described Collins as a man with a big personality who fiercely loved his family and devoted much of his life to serving others and his community.

Collins served in the Maryland National Guard for nine years and was a volunteer firefighter with the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company. He was the father of four and was engaged to be married, with a fifth child on the way, when he died.

“He was willing to run toward danger when other people ran away from it,” his sister said. “That was Dave. He protected people. He served people. He helped people and most importantly, he loved people.”

Edwards’ attorney, Elizabeth Franzoso, asked Mayer to suspend a portion of the mandatory life sentence so Edwards might have a chance to one day be involved in his children’s lives. She also asked the judge to refer Edwards to the Patuxent Institution's Eligible Person program for more intensive treatment of his mental health conditions.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Neil Blumberg testified on Edwards’ behalf, describing significant trauma throughout Edwards’ life. Edwards found a dead body when he was 7, witnessed his mentor die after falling through a window following a stroke, was bullied and beaten because he is biracial and has himself been stabbed twice, Blumberg said.

Blumberg said Edwards has multiple mental health conditions, including schizoaffective disorder, and a history of trauma that left him paranoid and hypervigilant.

Edwards told the doctor he believed Collins had been following him and felt cornered and outnumbered, Blumberg testified. In Edwards’ mind, he believed he needed to defend himself that night, the psychiatrist said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fuller said surveillance video of the encounter did not support Edwards’ account.

After his first murder conviction, Fuller said, Edwards took no responsibility for killing Collins. This time, he expressed accountability and remorse.

In court Monday, Edwards apologized to Collins’ family.

“There are no words that can undo the pain and loss I have caused all of y’all. I have thought about the hurt I have caused every day,” he said.

Edwards said he was not asking the family to forgive him because he did not believe he had the right to do so.

“I made choices I will regret for the rest of my life and I understand that my choices caused a lot of suffering that none of y’all deserve,” he said.

Mayer sentenced Edwards to life in prison, suspending none of the term, citing what she described as his lengthy history of violent offenses involving weapons, along with multiple juvenile offenses, adult felony convictions and probation violations. Edwards, who previously served prison time for a Harford County armed robbery he committed when he was 16, has also acknowledged being a longtime member of the Bloods gang and has received several disciplinary infractions while incarcerated, factors Mayer said she considered in imposing the sentence.

“That is the objective evidence that makes you a danger in the community,” Mayer told Edwards. “It certainly made you objectively a danger to Mr. Collins on the night of December 21st.”

Mayer agreed to refer Edwards to the Patuxent Institution program.