NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, February 2, 2012

INCIDENTS

Independence NHP

Three Men Arrested For Homicide In Park

During the early hours of January 14th, K.K., 23, a native of Philadelphia, was assaulted in the park just east of Independence Hall and subsequently died in a hospital (click on HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/headline.cfm?type=Incidents&id=6018" this link for the original report). Although the Philadelphia Police Department lead the ensuing investigation, park rangers and dispatchers worked closely with homicide detectives by poring over hundreds of hours of video footage from several security cameras. The cameras did not catch any usable video footage of the attack, but they did capture a possible target vehicle and several potential witnesses who could have been at the scene either as it was occurring or immediately after the assault. The investigation revealed that K.K. and his two female companions had left a local bar around 2:20 a.m. and that K.K. then attempted to hail a cab. Reports indicate that the cab driver refused to pick up the trio and that K.K. exchanged words with him. At this time, investigators later learned, the men who assaulted K.K. thought that he was yelling at them, and they chased him and the two women to the front of the Second Bank, then assaulted him and continued to do so even after he became unconscious. Due to high media interest and the possibility of federal prosecution, the park asked for assistance from a special agent from the NPS Investigative Services Branch. The agent and the park's law enforcement specialist collected additional video from park neighbors and worked directly with PPD homicide detectives on the investigation. On January 18th, a tipster called PPD with information about the incident. He said he'd overheard a man bragging about the assault and inquired about the $20,000 reward. This was the big break in the case. On January 20th, U.S. marshals and PPD homicide fugitive unit officers picked up the man, who was then brought in for questioning. Later that same day, the other two men were arrested, and each has been charged with murder. All three suspects, who are ages 19, 20 and 23 and from the Philadelphia area, confessed to the crime. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is currently taking the lead in the prosecution. [Donald P. Reed, Law Enforcement Specialist]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Conservation and Outdoor Recreation - Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance joined with more than a score of other partners to create the plan for the new 70-mile-long Pend Oreille River Water Trail.

Stones River NB - For the second year in a row, park staff have worked with students at a local high school to produce short interpretive films for the park's website.

Timucuan E&HP - Over 60 scientists, professors, students, federal, state and local government employees, and NPS staff gathered on January 20th for the first-ever Timucuan Science Symposium.

Northeast Region - Fred Bright, a volunteer at George Washington Birthplace National Monument for over a decade, has passed away.

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The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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