Homicides 2020 399
Kevin Selby, 22, Urban Explorer with a Photographic Memory
Born the day before Mother’s Day on May 9, 1998, Kevin Selby turned himself into jelly whenever his mom tried to hold him in her lap, wriggling out of her arms. That independent streak defined much of his short life. As a child growing up in North Philadelphia, and later, Mayfair, Kevin memorized bus routes […]
Vernon Mayes, 34, tattoo artist and dispatch worker whose addiction got the best of him
Back when Vernon Mayes was living in Atlanta, he and his girlfriend started doing tattoos together. She always knew how to draw, and he had a knack for pulling off the designs. She bought him tattoo equipment, and a hobby was born. Things were good. He was working a full-time job in dispatch, and the […]
Jess Crandall, 26, hospital worker and ice hockey star—with an uncanny knack for finding things
Jess Steven Crandall’s heart was as big as he was tall. At 6-foot-2, Jesse, as his loved ones called him, was a natural born helper because he cared so deeply about people. Even when it came to something seemingly insignificant as finding little lost things around the house. “I could be searching for something small, […]
Addryyss Smith, 33, started window-cleaning business and loved fried rice, his dirt bike and family
Drizz wanted his life to be as clear as the window panes he cleaned. In fact, when Addryyss Smith started his window-cleaning business, it was one of his proudest achievements, besides the birth of his son, said his sister, Najah Carroll. “Drizz may not have finished high school but he continued to make a life […]
Ammron Hargrove, 29, was Mr. Elmo to his preschoolers and loved his sister’s salmon broccoli cheesesteak
Sometimes they called him Mr. Elmo, other times Mr. A. But it was because they were preschool kids, and even though they had trouble saying their teacher’s name, they loved him. Ammron Hargrove started teaching preschool around 2012, said his sister, Porscheca Wright. She was surprised he went into it, but she wasn’t surprised that […]
Jasmine Lewis, 20, college basketball star dreaming of the WNBA
Jasmine Aaliyah Lewis started playing basketball in fourth grade, and it quickly became apparent that she had talent. She fell in love with the game at Sturgis Playground in East Oak Lane, then perfected her skills on the court at Mastery Charter North High School. By the time she reached Lackawanna College in Scranton, Jasmine […]
Khallid Henderson, 21: ‘We believe he’s our guardian angel’
Khallid Henderson would give anyone the shirt off his back or the shoes off his feet—literally. “I’d tell Khallid, ‘You can’t keep giving away your clothes,’” his grandmother Khalilah Moore said. Khallid had a drive to help others. He volunteered with a community-based program that feeds the homeless, and his goal was to go abroad […]
Henry Peterson Jr., 26, truck driver and ‘a real family man’
Henry J. Peterson Jr. loved to drive. He was usually the one behind the wheel whenever his family went anywhere together, and he never seemed to get tired of the road. In fact, he enjoyed driving so much that he turned it into a career. Henry’s father was a truck driver, and when Henry was […]
Zymiren Best, 19, outgoing guy who wanted to be a welder
Zymiren Best had a special yet unexplainable nickname for his mother: Slime. “Out of the blue, he’d text me, ‘What’s up with you, Slime? Cash App me ten dollars,” Bianca Best remembered with a smile in her voice. It’s the little, everyday things like this that she misses most. Zymiren was a senior at Camelot […]
Amir Parks, 22, new dad who loved making people laugh
When Amir Khalid Parks was little, he learned how to do the Harlem Shake, but he was too shy to perform the dance in front of anyone. “We’d say, ‘Mir Mir, let me see the Harlem Shake,’ and he would laugh and say no, but if you told him you were going to give him […]
Calvin Morton Greene, 32, aspiring real estate mogul who kept reaching higher
From an early age, Calvin Morton Greene understood the importance of knowing your history and creating generational wealth as a path to independence. His mother, Tracy Morton, taught him that and so much more. While Calvin was still in utero, Tracy encouraged him to learn a second language to increase his career prospects. Go to […]
Nahray Crisden, 19, lightning-fast athlete who was ‘always trying to save people’
Nahray Crisden was his mother’s greatest blessing when she gave birth to him on Sept. 16, 2000 after struggling with serious health issues for most of her life. For his middle name, she chose Munakk, which means “savior” in Arabic. And Nahray lived up to that name. He tried to save the young men in […]
William McElhenny, 45, kind and generous in spite of challenges
William McElhenny was on his way to visit his cousin when he spotted some household goods on the sidewalk with a “free” sign. William, who went by Bill, grabbed four margarita glasses and presented them to his cousin, Gayle Dickinson, when he arrived at her Southwest Center City home. “He said, ‘Look what I got […]
Jayden Lucas, 18: ‘He died doing what he loved, playing basketball’
When Jayden Lucas was in middle school, he would go out of his way to meet Makayla Myers as they navigated their way on SEPTA from Northeast Philadelphia, where they lived, to Center City. She saw him as just a friend, but as they got older, their relationship blossomed. Jayden got his first car in […]
Quincy White, 25: Creative, fun and playful
QuincyQ White was his mother’s golden child—literally. “Some people called him ‘cinnamonny’ because he had the color of light cinnamon,” his mother, Theresa Madison, said. “I called him my sandy boy because he had the light hair and the light eyes, and his skin looked to me like it was sand.” It just so happens […]
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