Homicides 2017 51
Emanuel Ervin, 21: ‘Who is this EE’ that loved to laugh despite terrible trauma?
When Emanuel Ervin was a child, his mother would take him to restaurants that had video games at the bar. He won so consistently that his initials stayed at the top of the list of the highest-scoring players. “Grown men would be like, ‘Who is this EE? I want to meet this EE! He has […]
Cristina Tosado, 38, pharmacy technician who always cared for ill family
Cristina Tosado was a strong, take-charge woman who was born to care for people. She helped take care of her maternal grandmother before she died in 2016. She also assisted in the care of her uncle, who died in early February 2017. “I looked up to her because she was stronger than I was,” her […]
Eric Perry, 24, ‘funny as hell’ family man who made viral videos
All Eric Perry wanted in life was to find a good job and take care of his family. He had two children, and at the time of his death on October 5, 2017, was working to get his forklift license. “He wanted things that were going to keep his family better in the long run,” […]
Niam Johnson-Tate, 23, New Dad and Organ Donor
Niam Johnson-Tate was the baby of the family. He got whatever he needed or wanted — even a car, when his two sisters scraped their money together and bought him an old Pontiac Bonneville when Niam was 18. So when he found out that he was going to be a father, he felt unprepared for […]
Rodney Copeland, 18, father-to-be who ‘just wanted to live life’
Rodney Copeland could see all of his high school milestones on the horizon. He was 18 years old, a senior in high school and getting ready to plan for his future. “He wanted to go to school, he wanted to graduate and was looking forward to going to prom,” Antoinette Garner, Rodney’s mother, said. “He […]
Rodger Taylor, 66
If you have any information about this victim, please contact us at [email protected] Date: 2017-11-26 Location: 2000 W Spencer St, Philadelphia, PA News coverage: NBC 10
Darrin “Meatball” Grandy, 23, loved being outside—until he fought for his life
The first thing you should know about Darrin Grandy is this: None of his friends or family ever really called him Darrin. To them, he was Meatball. “When he was born he was really chubby,” said his mother Tameka Johnson, who lives in Olney. “The name just stuck with him.” Born July 12, 1994 in […]
Hassan Kay, 18, cereal-obsessed teenager
Fruity Pebbles, Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops: 18-year-old Hassan Kay’s favorite foods came in the cartoon-covered, colorful boxes that line every grocery store’s cereal aisle. He could easily eat two to three boxes of cereal a day. Hassan was “hooked on it.” “I’d send him to the store and he’d come back with seven or eight […]
Francisco “Frankie” Caraballo Ortiz, 33, planned to take his son trick-or-treating
By all accounts, the most significant event in Francisco “Frankie” Caraballo Ortiz’s life was the birth of his son, Marcus, in 2011. “His son was his world,” said Yarii Torres, Marcus’ mother and Frankie’s former girlfriend. In recent months, 33-year-old Frankie had been working on bringing some stability to his life so he could be […]
Brandon Phillips, 36, working to make a better life for himself
At 36 years old, Brandon Phillips was finally turning his life around. “He had a bump in the road in his early adult life, but toward the end I guess he was trying to slowly get his life back together,” said Dawn Ferguson, Brandon’s wife of three years. Brandon had a family he cared deeply […]
Darryl Singleton, 24, a ‘Winslow’ training to be an EMT
Trina Singleton and her husband did everything they could to give their son Darryl a good life. He grew up spending his summers visiting his grandmothers in Georgia and South Carolina, even flying on an airplane by himself when he was young. He went to a two-week CSI camp affiliated with Johns Hopkins University in […]
Caitlin Jaje, 23, overcame obstacles to help others
Life is a challenge, meet it. Caitlin Jaje’s path in life was never an easy one. In her 23 years, she struggled with addiction, battled with a rare illness and went through other ups and downs. She was now clean for two years, healthy and getting ready to enroll in community college. “She was in […]
Benjamin Drains, 23, carried extra water around for thirsty homeless
Benjamin M. Drains Jr. knew tragedy, having lost his cop father when he was a teenager, but he still managed to serve as a role model for kids in his Olney neighborhood, often playing sports or PlayStation games with them. It was in 2011, shortly before the 23-year-old, who went by “BJ,” graduated from Fels […]
Dimere Allen, 19: ‘See! I told you I got a horse’
Dimere Allen used to love it when people didn’t believe he rode horses, which wasn’t exactly a popular activity for those growing up in North Philadelphia. “So people would say, ‘Nah, what are you talking about? You don’t have any horses,’” said his father, Andre Horne. “And so when he’d get home, he’d get his […]
Haneef Brown, 32, ‘Heart of Gold’
Chef, airplane mechanic and construction worker: these are just a few of the career paths that Haneef Brown dabbled in and aspired to throughout his life. The 32-year-old was working to find his place in the world. His life aspirations shifted frequently, but he was always working towards something. “He flopped in and out on […]
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