Philadelphia has been rattled by a gruesome double homicide as police discovered two bodies in the storied Fairmount Park, victims of what authorities are calling "execution-style" murders. The fatal event occurred late Thursday evening, with officers responding to a distress call around 11 p.m. on the 3800 block of Mount Pleasant Drive.
On arrival, authorities found Thurston Cooper, 49, and Krystina Chambers, 38, both of Philadelphia, lying in a gully beside the road, with fatal gunshot wounds to the head. According to FOX 29 Philadelphia, the victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators found three spent shell casings close by, signaling the brutal nature of the slayings.
"At this point, it appears that they were both shot and killed execution-style," Police Chief Inspector Scott Small was quoted in a report by NBC Philadelphia. Details remain scarce as the police have yet to release information regarding a suspect or the possible motivation behind the murders. Detectives are pinning hopes on surveillance footage from the nearby Mount Pleasant Mansion, which could potentially shed light on the incident.
In the wake of the tragedy, Krystina Chambers's family is grappling with immense sorrow and loss. Chambers, a dental assistant and a mother of four was recalled fondly by her grieving relatives. "She was a beautiful person. She was very good. She loved people," her mother Terri Chambers told 6ABC in a heart-wrenching interview. Her son Taye Evans, remembering his last conversation with his mother, said, "I said, 'Hi and I love you.' And she said, 'I love you' back and that was the last time I heard from her."
The proximity of the crime scene to the historical Mount Pleasant Mansion has caught public attention but offers no consolation for the bereaved family, who now must forge a path forward without their beloved.
