Man charged with murder in 5-year-old cold case killings of expectant mother, baby in Columbia

By Greg Ng

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    COLUMBIA, Maryland (WBAL) — A man is charged with murder in the 2020 killings of an expectant mother and her baby girl in Columbia, Howard County police announced Thursday.

Edward Robinson, 31, of Columbia, was arrested Wednesday in Gaithersburg two counts each of first- and second-degree murder and related assault and handgun violations, county police said. He remains held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.

The charges stem from the fatal shooting on the night of July 31, 2020, of Rabiah Ahmad, 30, who was 28 weeks pregnant. She died at a hospital, and doctors delivered her baby girl, Ahja, who remained in critical condition until she died less than a week later.

Ahmad had recently moved to Maryland, where she had been staying at a house on Dovecote Drive for only a few months. Ahmad was struck once by gunfire and no one else was injured. Police said investigators believe Ahmad was not the intended target.

Cold case detectives, who started investigating the case in September 2024, received a tip that identified Robinson as having a dispute with two residents of the house where Ahmad was staying.

Police said detectives believe the dispute led Robinson to fire gunshots at the house as a suspected warning to the other residents.

Police said projectiles found at the scene matched the caliber of a gun that was recovered during a search Wednesday of Robinson’s house in Columbia.

In January 2021, officials increased the reward for information to $30,000.

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