Catfishing Led To Bel Air Teen's Stabbing, Aberdeen Attacker Convicted: Prosecutor

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A 21-year-old Aberdeen man has been convicted in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Christopher Kerfoot near his home in the 1200 block of Agora Drive in Bel Air on July 8, 2021.

According to court documents presented during the five-day jury trial in the Circuit Court for Harford County, Kerfoot's brother woke up shortly before 5 a.m. at their shared home to find his brother with stab wounds. Before he died, Kerfoot told his brother that "Frank did it," alluding to Frank George Hudson, III.

The investigation identified Hudson as the suspect who was known to both the victim and the brother. Hudson was arrested at his residence in the 1400 block of Pannell Drive that night and a knife was located in a nearby dumpster, according to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office.

Hudson told investigators he thought he was meeting a teenage girl he had been talking to through the app SnapChat. When he arrived at the home, Kerfoot approached him and the two men fought outside Hudson's vehicle. According to information presented at the trial, Hudson stabbed Kerfoot three times and bit him on the upper left arm.

Forensic evidence found Kerfoot's DNA on Hudson's driver's side door and Hudson's DNA was found on the knife recovered near his home. A digital forensic analysis of the Kerfoot's phone showed that it had been recently used to message Hudson using the female’s name to arrange the meeting at that location.

At the end of the trial, Hudson was convicted April 3 of voluntary manslaughter and carrying a concealed dangerous weapon. He faces up to 10 years of incarceration for the voluntary manslaughter charge and an additional three years for the concealed weapon charge.

The judge ordered a pre-sentence investigation and a psychological evaluation done on Hudson for consideration during sentencing. Sentencing will be scheduled in approximately six weeks.

“Nothing can bring Christopher Kerfoot back, but today’s verdict is justice for Christopher and for his family that was present for the entire trial. This was a difficult case to try without eyewitnesses, but my office will always vigorously pursue truth and justice with the use of the physical evidence," State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey said.