Antonio Darrelle Smith, known as Butter, was 26 when he and a 31-year-old friend, Arlene Byrd, were found murdered in his Salisbury, Maryland apartment. The two left a party together and returned to the 500 block of Emory Court around 3 a.m. on July 18, 2010. Police believe one or more assailants lay in wait and that Smith was the intended target; investigators estimate the victims were held and tortured for up to two hours before both were killed.

A welfare check around 7:00 p.m. that day led apartment staff and police to force entry and discover both dead. The medical examiner ruled Smith’s cause of death as asphyxiation and Byrd’s as stab wounds; both suffered blunt force trauma. A trail of blood from the apartment door down the stairs shows the violent struggle, but no arrests were ever announced and several persons of interest were identified without charges.

Maryland State Police reopened the cold case in November 2020 to re-examine evidence. If anyone knew Antonio or Arlene, or has information about that night or the people seen near Emory Court, please come forward.