Local rapper, wife charged in stabbing after show

Baltimore County police have charged a Baltimore woman and her rapper husband in the stabbing death of a man at the Halethorpe bar where he performed Saturday night.

Shelbie Mech, 31, and Michael Singer, 35, also known as the rapper "Blizz," were arrested Monday in the death of 22-year-old John Bowman early Sunday at the Fish Head Cantina.

Mech, of the South Baltimore neighborhood of Brooklyn, is charged with first-degree murder, and Singer was charged as an accessory after the fact.

Police said officers were called to the Benson Avenue bar shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday to respond to what one performer described as "a straight riot."

"After the show ended, everybody ended up out back," said Josh Fulton, who said he was the last rapper to perform. "The whole place was out fighting."

When officers arrived, they found Bowman suffering from multiple stab wounds, police said. He was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

A witness told police that he or she heard Mech tell another patron: "I just stabbed this guy up, we have to get out of here," police said in charging documents.

A bouncer who tried to follow Mech as she left was stopped by two men, police said, and Mech was able to get into a car that belonged to a friend.

The bouncer told officers that one of the men who stopped him tried to bend the front and rear license plates so they couldn't be read, but he was still able to get a number.

Police did not identify the security guard or the witness.

The chief administrator of the Baltimore County Liquor Board said that the board would look into the incident.

Employees at the Fish Head Cantina referred questions to an attorney. A call to the attorney Tuesday was not returned.

Police have not given a motive for the stabbing. They said the relationship between Bowman and the couple is unknown.

Singer has a lengthy arrest record that includes assault and drug-related charges dating back to 1997, according to court records.

Mech was charged with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment in a 2010 incident, but the charges were dropped, according to records.

Bowman was scheduled to appear in court for a second-degree assault charge from a February incident.

Mech and Singer were being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center. Mech is being held without bail and Singer is being held in lieu of $1,000,000 bond. Court records did not show an attorney for either.

Neighbors outside the couple's rowhouse in Brooklyn said Mech and Singer each have young children from previous relationships. They said the couple lived there for about a year.

A man who identified himself as an uncle to Bowman declined to comment.

jkanderson@baltsun.com