An arsonist has haunted -- but not physically harmed -- two Upper Darby families twice in the last week.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the firebug poured gasoline and lit three matches on the first floor porch of an apartment building on State Road near Parkview Road about 2 a.m. today.
A tenant extinguished the small flames with a bucket of water. Chitwood said the arsonist pulled the same stunt on the same porch about 3 a.m. on Feb. 14.
No one was injured in either incident. Chitwood said that four adults and five children live inside the building. The two families arent from the area, and have no history of problems in Upper Darby, he said.
This guy [the arsonist] is a total idiot, Chitwood said. God forbid, you could have nine people die there. Hopefully well catch him before he tries something like this again.
Tipsters can contact detectives at 610-734-7677.
Uke said
12:14 PM, 02/23/11
You're kidding right? Tipsters should call in... The damn targets know who the 'idiot' arsonist is! IF they don't help cops catch his ass, maybe next time his little stunt just might prove ta be the spark that destroys 'em!
Troll said
5:44 AM, 02/24/11
Phila. man charged in killing almost 38 years after shots were fired
By Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writer
Joseph Kwiatkowski was 18 that Mother's Day afternoon in 1973 when someone raced up to the door of his sister's house and said, "Your brother is getting beaten up."
Kwiatkowski, a high school senior, ran down to the corner to help his brothers, William and John. Those were the last steps he took.
Gunfire erupted in the crime-ridden Warminster Heights neighborhood. A bullet found Kwiatkowski's spine, paralyzing him from the chest down.
After 36 years of medical struggles, he died in Florida in 2009 at 54.
Wednesday, almost 38 years after the shooting, a Philadelphia man who already served prison time for shooting Kwiatkowski was charged with homicide.
After a 14-month investigation, a Bucks County grand jury recommended that Domingo Lopez Negron, 58, be held accountable for the life of a victim who took nearly four decades to die.
A medical examiner in Florida determined that Kwiatkowski's death ultimately was caused by the bullet that lodged between his ninth and 10th thoracic vertebrae on May 13, 1973, the grand jury presentment said.
The charge is reminiscent of a widely publicized but unsuccessful Philadelphia case involving a city police officer who died 41 years after being shot and paralyzed in 1966.
Former Officer Walter Barclay died in 2007 of blood poisoning, which prosecutors said was a direct result of the long-ago shooting. But a jury decided otherwise, and last year acquitted Barclay's now-elderly assailant - who had served 16 years for the shooting - of murder.
In that case, defense attorneys successfully argued that too many other problems - car crashes, wheelchair accidents, and alleged abuse by his caretakers - had befallen Barclay after the shooting to allow prosecutors to tie his death to his gunshot wound.
Bucks County Deputy District Attorney David Zellis said Kwiatkowski's decades of physical misery, and ultimately his death, happened without any additional medical complications.
"He didn't have cancer, he didn't have any other things that might have been responsible for his death," Zellis said. "This gunshot wound caused his death, even though it was 37 years ago."
Ian Hood, a local forensic pathologist, told the grand jury that Kwiatkowski's chronic health issues and death were caused by his paralysis, a direct result of the shooting, the presentment said.
Negron's lawyer, William Craig Penglase, echoed the defense argument in the Barclay case. "Too many intervening acts happened between the time the bullet was fired and the time of the ultimate death for us to call this case a homicide," he said.
Negron, who surrendered to police Wednesday afternoon, did not speak to reporters. Despite having been convicted of assault and firearms charges in 1973, he denies firing the shot that wounded Kwiatkowski, Penglase said.
Negron was sentenced to serve one to three years in prison in that case. Negron also received five years of probation for attempted homicide in 1977 for an unrelated stabbing, Zellis said at Negron's preliminary arraignment Wednesday.
Based on that criminal record and the seriousness of the homicide charge, District Judge Daniel J. Finello set Negron's bail at $2 million.
Penglase said Negron, a father of four, worked in warehouses for many years until a workplace injury left him disabled.
According to grand jury testimony, the long-ago shooting was the result of simmering tensions between whites and Hispanics in the Warminster Heights development.
One of Kwiatkowski's brothers, William, told the grand jury he had argued with and punched a Hispanic drug dealer a few days before the shooting.
On the day of the shooting, William and John Kwiatkowski were standing at Downey and Van Horn Drives when a car pulled up, William Kwiatkowski told the grand jury. Four men jumped out, and started beating the brothers with clubs and kicking them, he said.
William Kwiatkowski said Negron ran back to the car, retrieved a gun and began shooting, wounding John Kwiatkowski, a friend of the Kwiatkowskis', and Joseph Kwiatkowski, who had come to help his brothers.
Police are questioning a woman in the fatal stabbing of a 31-year-old man in North Philadelphia early today.
The victim, not immediately identified, was stabbed once in the back in a residence on the 2300 block of North Van Pelt Street at about 12:35 a.m., police said.
He died at Temple University Hospital at 1:24 a.m.
Police provided no details about the circumstance surrounding the stabbing, but said detectives were questioning a woman.
The home of Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jason Peters was reportedly burglarized, and the thief got away with an estimated $60,000 worth of property, police said yesterday. Peters had been away since mid-January and returned to his home Wednesday at a condominium development near the Eagles' training facility and Lincoln Financial Field to find that his house had been ransacked, CBS 3 reported. Peters told police the thieves had taken a number of items, including designer watches, diamond jewelry and camera equipment, CBS 3 said. Police have no suspects and ask anyone with information on the case to call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
MAN SHOT INSIDE STORE
A middle-aged man was shot inside a corner store in Hunting Park during a robbery last night, police said. The store owner's 51-year-old brother, Marcelino Rosario, was shot once in the back after two men with guns barged into Gomez Mini Mart on 8th Street and Lycoming at 8:10 p.m., police said. He was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Rosario was sitting in a chair watching television when the thieves entered the store with their guns drawn, police said. Rosario got up from the chair and tried to run behind the counter when he was shot, according to authorities. The thieves got away with $100, cops said.
DONUT DRIVE-THRU ROBBERY
A gun-toting thug walked up to a Feltonville Dunkin' Donuts drive-through early yesterday morning and demanded cash, police said.
The masked crook pointed a gun at the cashier inside the store, on Hunting Park Avenue near Rising Sun, about 12:30 a.m. Police said that the man walked away with about $200. No one was injured, but the cashier was shaken up, according to the manager. The manager said it was the second time that that store has been robbed. The first was last Thanksgiving, when a string of Dunkin' Donuts stores were held up.
IN OTHER NEWS: FACEBOOK LEADS TO MAN'S ARREST
A Pennsylvania man who threw himself a going-away party before his sentencing on drug charges was picked up on an outstanding warrant after police saw information about the party posted on fliers and his Facebook page.
Scranton Police Chief Dan Duffy said Keith Cardone, 28, was arrested early Wednesday during the party he threw for himself at a Scranton bar. Cardone is awaiting sentencing for his role in a drug ring that distributed $2.7 million in marijuana and cocaine in the area.
Duffy says two officers spotted ads for Cardone's "Going Away Ba$h" then picked him up on a warrant stemming from another drug charge. Cardone is being held on $5,000 bail.
- Jan Ransom and wire reports
Troll said
7:42 AM, 02/28/11
Weekend slaying victims identified
Inquirer Staff Report
Police have released the names of two slaying victims from the weekend and reported the death of another man four days after he was beaten a baseball bat.
The man killed when gunfire ripped through a 2003 Chevy Suburban in North Philadelphia early Sunday was identified as Hector Plaza, 27, of the 2800 block of North Reese Street in the Fairhill section.
A second man wounded in the arm in the shooting on the 500 block of West Cambria Street made his way to Episcopal Hospital in another car and was transferred to Temple University Hospital in stable condition.
No arrests have been reported.
A man fatally wounded in a shooting early Saturday in a bar on the 2600 block of Sergeant Street in North Philadelphia was identified as Christopher Keeys, who lived nearby on West Huntingdon Street.
Keeys, 26, was shot multiple times in the back and side during a fight in the bar that also left a 43-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the thigh and a 32-year-old man stabbed in the leg, police said.
Keeys died at 1:26 a.m. at Temple University Hospital.
Again, no arrests have been reported.
In another case, police said a man beaten with a baseball bat on Feb. 20 in his home on the 5700 block of Vine Street in West Philadelphia has died.
Howard Dickson, 44, succumbed to his injuries at 11:54 p.m. Thursday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Police had one man in custody and were seeking two others in a shooting in Camden that left a 24-year-old man dead and two other people wounded.
The slain victim has been identified as Ralph Carstarphen of Camden.
He was fatally wounded late Saturday when three men got out of a van at 6th and Royden Streets and opened fire, police said.
A man and woman, both 18, also were wounded. The man was reported in critical but stable condition at Cooper University Hospital. The woman was treated and released.
Police who responded to the shooting quickly identified the van and gave chase to 9th and Line Streets, where the three suspected shooters bailed out and fled on foot.
The officers fired at the men during the chase, but no injuries were reported, said the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
Police took one man into custody but have not released his name, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation. Officers also recovered two handguns.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Camden County Prosecutor's Office Investigator Mike Dougherty at (856) 225-8400 or Camden Police Detective William Frampton at (856) 757-7420.
Richard Williams was stabbed in the back twice early Friday morning, police say, once, when his girlfriend, Venetta Hayes, brought another man home from the casino and again when she literally stabbed him in the back and killed him.
But Hayes' family and neighbors suspect she was acting in self-defense after Williams, who they say is her ex-boyfriend, broke through a front window of her North Philadelphia home while the other man and her nephews were inside.
"If she would have walked away, would she have been the victim?" said Mindy Brooks, Hayes' neighbor.
Hayes, 44, had gone to a casino and brought a man back to her house on Van Pelt Street near York, said Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl.
When Williams, 31, of Thompson Street near 54th, stopped by around 12:35 a.m. and Hayes would not let him inside, he tried to climb in her house through a window and Hayes stabbed him in the back with a large kitchen knife, Riehl said.
He was later pronounced dead and Hayes was charged with murder.
But neighbors said Williams didn't just try to climb through Hayes' front window, he broke through it. Although the window had been repaired as of yesterday, the shredded plastic behind it was visible from the street.
When Hayes mother, Betty, stopped by her daughter's house yesterday, she said she didn't know how long her daughter had dated Williams but she said that they had broken up. She said the incident was out of character and that she believes her daughter must have been afraid for her life, even though police said there was no history of abuse between the two.
"My daughter is not that kind of person, she is very friendly," Betty Hayes said. "They didn't have a hate thing."
She said she'd heard that Williams was high on PCP when he broke in to her daughter's house.
"She's got her family all behind her," Betty Hayes said.
Brooks, Hayes' neighbor who lives directly across the street, said she couldn't believe she slept through the whole incident. She described Hayes, whom she called "Netta," as a good, sensitive person who cared for others, including the kids on her block and Hayes' nephews, ages 9 and 16, who often stayed with her. Brooks said the boys were at her house when the incident took place.
"Netta's emotions for children and the well-being of others was inspiring," Brooks said. "I just can't think how her heart must be feeling now.
"If I had to bet my freedom, I'd bet she was just protecting herself."
Troll said
10:30 AM, 03/01/11
Woman, 81, strangled; son in custody
By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer
An 81-year-old Juniata Park woman died early this morning, apparently from strangulation, and her 57-year-old son is in custody, according to police.
The woman was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m. inside a home in the 4200 block of Malta Street, near East Hunting Park Avenue.
Police were called to the scene shortly after 1:30 a.m.
This article will be updated as other details become available, such as names and possible charges.
Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342
Troll said
4:11 PM, 03/05/11
Youth killed in Green Street shooting
A 17-year-old was killed by a single gunshot on the 700 block of Green Street in Philadelphia early Saturday morning.
Police said that Dwayne Ballard was shot in the back by an unknown assailant. He was pronounced dead at Hahnemann University Hospital at 12:25 a.m.
Ballard was among a handful of acquaintances on Green Street at the time of the shooting, police said. It was unclear Saturday whether the assailant, who approached the group and began firing, was on foot or in an automobile.
-- Chris Mondics
Troll said
4:12 PM, 03/05/11
Man shot to death outside eatery
Police are seeking a suspect in the shooting death of a 39-year-old man outside a Chinese restaurant at 22nd and Oxford in Brewerytown early Saturday morning.
The victim, Lawrence Horton, was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital at 2:28 a.m., police said.
The incident began inside the Nanchang Chinese and American takeout restaurant when Horton and another man began arguing, police said. After they stepped outside, the assailant pulled a gun and shot Horton in the chest.
A 23-year-old woman also was shot in the leg during the dispute and taken to Temple University Hospital where she was treated and released.
An arsonist has haunted -- but not physically harmed -- two Upper Darby families twice in the last week.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the firebug poured gasoline and lit three matches on the first floor porch of an apartment building on State Road near Parkview Road about 2 a.m. today.
A tenant extinguished the small flames with a bucket of water. Chitwood said the arsonist pulled the same stunt on the same porch about 3 a.m. on Feb. 14.
No one was injured in either incident. Chitwood said that four adults and five children live inside the building. The two families arent from the area, and have no history of problems in Upper Darby, he said.
This guy [the arsonist] is a total idiot, Chitwood said. God forbid, you could have nine people die there. Hopefully well catch him before he tries something like this again.
Tipsters can contact detectives at 610-734-7677.
Phila. man charged in killing almost 38 years after shots were fired
By Larry King
Inquirer Staff Writer
Joseph Kwiatkowski was 18 that Mother's Day afternoon in 1973 when someone raced up to the door of his sister's house and said, "Your brother is getting beaten up."
Kwiatkowski, a high school senior, ran down to the corner to help his brothers, William and John. Those were the last steps he took.
Gunfire erupted in the crime-ridden Warminster Heights neighborhood. A bullet found Kwiatkowski's spine, paralyzing him from the chest down.
After 36 years of medical struggles, he died in Florida in 2009 at 54.
Wednesday, almost 38 years after the shooting, a Philadelphia man who already served prison time for shooting Kwiatkowski was charged with homicide.
After a 14-month investigation, a Bucks County grand jury recommended that Domingo Lopez Negron, 58, be held accountable for the life of a victim who took nearly four decades to die.
A medical examiner in Florida determined that Kwiatkowski's death ultimately was caused by the bullet that lodged between his ninth and 10th thoracic vertebrae on May 13, 1973, the grand jury presentment said.
The charge is reminiscent of a widely publicized but unsuccessful Philadelphia case involving a city police officer who died 41 years after being shot and paralyzed in 1966.
Former Officer Walter Barclay died in 2007 of blood poisoning, which prosecutors said was a direct result of the long-ago shooting. But a jury decided otherwise, and last year acquitted Barclay's now-elderly assailant - who had served 16 years for the shooting - of murder.
In that case, defense attorneys successfully argued that too many other problems - car crashes, wheelchair accidents, and alleged abuse by his caretakers - had befallen Barclay after the shooting to allow prosecutors to tie his death to his gunshot wound.
Bucks County Deputy District Attorney David Zellis said Kwiatkowski's decades of physical misery, and ultimately his death, happened without any additional medical complications.
"He didn't have cancer, he didn't have any other things that might have been responsible for his death," Zellis said. "This gunshot wound caused his death, even though it was 37 years ago."
Ian Hood, a local forensic pathologist, told the grand jury that Kwiatkowski's chronic health issues and death were caused by his paralysis, a direct result of the shooting, the presentment said.
Negron's lawyer, William Craig Penglase, echoed the defense argument in the Barclay case. "Too many intervening acts happened between the time the bullet was fired and the time of the ultimate death for us to call this case a homicide," he said.
Negron, who surrendered to police Wednesday afternoon, did not speak to reporters. Despite having been convicted of assault and firearms charges in 1973, he denies firing the shot that wounded Kwiatkowski, Penglase said.
Negron was sentenced to serve one to three years in prison in that case. Negron also received five years of probation for attempted homicide in 1977 for an unrelated stabbing, Zellis said at Negron's preliminary arraignment Wednesday.
Based on that criminal record and the seriousness of the homicide charge, District Judge Daniel J. Finello set Negron's bail at $2 million.
Penglase said Negron, a father of four, worked in warehouses for many years until a workplace injury left him disabled.
According to grand jury testimony, the long-ago shooting was the result of simmering tensions between whites and Hispanics in the Warminster Heights development.
One of Kwiatkowski's brothers, William, told the grand jury he had argued with and punched a Hispanic drug dealer a few days before the shooting.
On the day of the shooting, William and John Kwiatkowski were standing at Downey and Van Horn Drives when a car pulled up, William Kwiatkowski told the grand jury. Four men jumped out, and started beating the brothers with clubs and kicking them, he said.
William Kwiatkowski said Negron ran back to the car, retrieved a gun and began shooting, wounding John Kwiatkowski, a friend of the Kwiatkowskis', and Joseph Kwiatkowski, who had come to help his brothers.
Contact staff writer Larry King at 215-345-0446 or lking@phillynews.com
Man fatally stabbed in N. Phila.
Inquirer Staff Report
The victim, not immediately identified, was stabbed once in the back in a residence on the 2300 block of North Van Pelt Street at about 12:35 a.m., police said.
He died at Temple University Hospital at 1:24 a.m.
Police provided no details about the circumstance surrounding the stabbing, but said detectives were questioning a woman.
Contact the Inquirer Online News Desk at online@phillynews.com
Police arrest suspect in Feb. 16 slaying
Inquirer Staff Report
Charged with murder is Francis Missino, of the 400 block of Van Kirk Street in Oxford Circle, police said.
Police say Missino shot Chad Marchewski once in the head in a bedroom at the Van Kirk Street address following an argument.
Marchewski, who lived in the Summerdale section, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police had sought Missino since the killing and found him Thursday on the 2700 block of North 13th Street in North Philadelphia.
He was ordered held without bail today until a court hearing scheduled for March 16.
Contact the Inquirer Online News Desk at online@phillynews.com
Birds player's South Philly home robbed
BIRDS LINEMAN A THEFT VICTIM
The home of Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jason Peters was reportedly burglarized, and the thief got away with an estimated $60,000 worth of property, police said yesterday. Peters had been away since mid-January and returned to his home Wednesday at a condominium development near the Eagles' training facility and Lincoln Financial Field to find that his house had been ransacked, CBS 3 reported. Peters told police the thieves had taken a number of items, including designer watches, diamond jewelry and camera equipment, CBS 3 said. Police have no suspects and ask anyone with information on the case to call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
MAN SHOT INSIDE STORE
A middle-aged man was shot inside a corner store in Hunting Park during a robbery last night, police said. The store owner's 51-year-old brother, Marcelino Rosario, was shot once in the back after two men with guns barged into Gomez Mini Mart on 8th Street and Lycoming at 8:10 p.m., police said. He was rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Rosario was sitting in a chair watching television when the thieves entered the store with their guns drawn, police said. Rosario got up from the chair and tried to run behind the counter when he was shot, according to authorities. The thieves got away with $100, cops said.
DONUT DRIVE-THRU ROBBERY
A gun-toting thug walked up to a Feltonville Dunkin' Donuts drive-through early yesterday morning and demanded cash, police said.
The masked crook pointed a gun at the cashier inside the store, on Hunting Park Avenue near Rising Sun, about 12:30 a.m. Police said that the man walked away with about $200. No one was injured, but the cashier was shaken up, according to the manager. The manager said it was the second time that that store has been robbed. The first was last Thanksgiving, when a string of Dunkin' Donuts stores were held up.
IN OTHER NEWS: FACEBOOK LEADS TO MAN'S ARREST
A Pennsylvania man who threw himself a going-away party before his sentencing on drug charges was picked up on an outstanding warrant after police saw information about the party posted on fliers and his Facebook page.
Scranton Police Chief Dan Duffy said Keith Cardone, 28, was arrested early Wednesday during the party he threw for himself at a Scranton bar. Cardone is awaiting sentencing for his role in a drug ring that distributed $2.7 million in marijuana and cocaine in the area.
Duffy says two officers spotted ads for Cardone's "Going Away Ba$h" then picked him up on a warrant stemming from another drug charge. Cardone is being held on $5,000 bail.
- Jan Ransom and wire reports
Weekend slaying victims identified
Inquirer Staff Report
The man killed when gunfire ripped through a 2003 Chevy Suburban in North Philadelphia early Sunday was identified as Hector Plaza, 27, of the 2800 block of North Reese Street in the Fairhill section.
A second man wounded in the arm in the shooting on the 500 block of West Cambria Street made his way to Episcopal Hospital in another car and was transferred to Temple University Hospital in stable condition.
No arrests have been reported.
A man fatally wounded in a shooting early Saturday in a bar on the 2600 block of Sergeant Street in North Philadelphia was identified as Christopher Keeys, who lived nearby on West Huntingdon Street.
Keeys, 26, was shot multiple times in the back and side during a fight in the bar that also left a 43-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the thigh and a 32-year-old man stabbed in the leg, police said.
Keeys died at 1:26 a.m. at Temple University Hospital.
Again, no arrests have been reported.
In another case, police said a man beaten with a baseball bat on Feb. 20 in his home on the 5700 block of Vine Street in West Philadelphia has died.
Howard Dickson, 44, succumbed to his injuries at 11:54 p.m. Thursday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Police are looking for his killer.
Contact the Inquirer Online News Desk at online@phillynews.com
Man killed, woman hurt in home invasion
Inquirer Staff Report
Police are looking for a man who was known to the victims.
The break-in occurred about 6:25 a.m. at a house on the 5600 block of Nelson Street, police said.
The man was stabbed once in the chest and a 32-year-old woman's face was slashed during the attack. police said.
The man died at Albert Einstein Medical Center at 7:04 a.m. The woman was reported in stable condition at the hospital.
No other details are available yet.
Contact the Inquirer Online News Desk at online@phillynews.com
1 held, 2 sought in deadly Camden shooting
Inquirer Staff Report
Police had one man in custody and were seeking two others in a shooting in Camden that left a 24-year-old man dead and two other people wounded.
The slain victim has been identified as Ralph Carstarphen of Camden.
He was fatally wounded late Saturday when three men got out of a van at 6th and Royden Streets and opened fire, police said.
A man and woman, both 18, also were wounded. The man was reported in critical but stable condition at Cooper University Hospital. The woman was treated and released.
Police who responded to the shooting quickly identified the van and gave chase to 9th and Line Streets, where the three suspected shooters bailed out and fled on foot.
The officers fired at the men during the chase, but no injuries were reported, said the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.
Police took one man into custody but have not released his name, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation. Officers also recovered two handguns.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Camden County Prosecutor's Office Investigator Mike Dougherty at (856) 225-8400 or Camden Police Detective William Frampton at (856) 757-7420.
Contact the Inquirer Online News Desk at online@phillynews.com
Ex stabbed to death; woman held
By STEPHANIE FARR & JAN RANSOM
Philadelphia Daily News
farrs@phillynews.com 215-854-4225
Richard Williams was stabbed in the back twice early Friday morning, police say, once, when his girlfriend, Venetta Hayes, brought another man home from the casino and again when she literally stabbed him in the back and killed him.
But Hayes' family and neighbors suspect she was acting in self-defense after Williams, who they say is her ex-boyfriend, broke through a front window of her North Philadelphia home while the other man and her nephews were inside.
"If she would have walked away, would she have been the victim?" said Mindy Brooks, Hayes' neighbor.
Hayes, 44, had gone to a casino and brought a man back to her house on Van Pelt Street near York, said Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl.
When Williams, 31, of Thompson Street near 54th, stopped by around 12:35 a.m. and Hayes would not let him inside, he tried to climb in her house through a window and Hayes stabbed him in the back with a large kitchen knife, Riehl said.
He was later pronounced dead and Hayes was charged with murder.
But neighbors said Williams didn't just try to climb through Hayes' front window, he broke through it. Although the window had been repaired as of yesterday, the shredded plastic behind it was visible from the street.
When Hayes mother, Betty, stopped by her daughter's house yesterday, she said she didn't know how long her daughter had dated Williams but she said that they had broken up. She said the incident was out of character and that she believes her daughter must have been afraid for her life, even though police said there was no history of abuse between the two.
"My daughter is not that kind of person, she is very friendly," Betty Hayes said. "They didn't have a hate thing."
She said she'd heard that Williams was high on PCP when he broke in to her daughter's house.
"She's got her family all behind her," Betty Hayes said.
Brooks, Hayes' neighbor who lives directly across the street, said she couldn't believe she slept through the whole incident. She described Hayes, whom she called "Netta," as a good, sensitive person who cared for others, including the kids on her block and Hayes' nephews, ages 9 and 16, who often stayed with her. Brooks said the boys were at her house when the incident took place.
"Netta's emotions for children and the well-being of others was inspiring," Brooks said. "I just can't think how her heart must be feeling now.
"If I had to bet my freedom, I'd bet she was just protecting herself."
Woman, 81, strangled; son in custody
By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer
An 81-year-old Juniata Park woman died early this morning, apparently from strangulation, and her 57-year-old son is in custody, according to police.
The woman was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m. inside a home in the 4200 block of Malta Street, near East Hunting Park Avenue.
Police were called to the scene shortly after 1:30 a.m.
This article will be updated as other details become available, such as names and possible charges.
Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342
Youth killed in Green Street shooting
A 17-year-old was killed by a single gunshot on the 700 block of Green Street in Philadelphia early Saturday morning.
Police said that Dwayne Ballard was shot in the back by an unknown assailant. He was pronounced dead at Hahnemann University Hospital at 12:25 a.m.
Ballard was among a handful of acquaintances on Green Street at the time of the shooting, police said. It was unclear Saturday whether the assailant, who approached the group and began firing, was on foot or in an automobile.
-- Chris Mondics
Man shot to death outside eatery
Police are seeking a suspect in the shooting death of a 39-year-old man outside a Chinese restaurant at 22nd and Oxford in Brewerytown early Saturday morning.
The victim, Lawrence Horton, was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital at 2:28 a.m., police said.
The incident began inside the Nanchang Chinese and American takeout restaurant when Horton and another man began arguing, police said. After they stepped outside, the assailant pulled a gun and shot Horton in the chest.
A 23-year-old woman also was shot in the leg during the dispute and taken to Temple University Hospital where she was treated and released.
-- Chris Mondics