Baltimore Police have arrested a 59-year-old Roland Park man after authorities say he told investigators he had attacked and killed his roommate.

Patrick Cromwell is facing first- and second-degree murder and assault charges and a weapons charge in Baltimore City after authorities say he slashed his 77-year-old roommate with a meat cleaver and then strangled him.

No attorney representing Cromwell was listed in court records Monday afternoon.

Police were dispatched to a report of assault Sunday around 7:54 a.m. in the 900 block of West University Parkway in Roland Park. While on the way to the scene, an officer called the person who had reported assault, Patrick Cromwell, who said he had just killed his roommate, according to charging documents.

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Cromwell was standing outside when officers arrived and had fresh cuts on his face and hands. Inside the apartment, authorities found 77-year-old Joseph Barranco unresponsive near the door. He had numerous cuts and lacerations on his head, neck, arms and legs. A paramedic pronounced Barranco dead just after 8 a.m.

Homicide detectives have assumed control of the investigation while the medical examiner’s office is investigating the cause of death.

Cromwell was taken into custody to Baltimore Police headquarters, where officials said he acknowledged his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with detectives. Cromwell told them his roommate attacked him but was not armed. Cromwell picked up a meat cleaver and struck Barranco in the head and neck before using his feet and hands to strangle him. He later told police his own injuries were self-inflicted and likely hit himself in the hand with the cleaver while attempting to hold Barranco.

A neighbor of Cromwell’s, Emma Salazar, told WJZ Cromwell made her feel unsafe for years by knocking on her door and window and sliding notes under her door.

“No one might have necessarily expected an outcome this extreme, but if there is one person in the building that was going to do something like that, everyone could have probably concluded that it was going to be him,” Salazar said.

Lillian Reed

lillian.reed@thebaltimorebanner.com

Lillian Reed

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