The quaint Philadelphia neighborhood of Crescentville was rocked Tuesday afternoon when two women were found brutally stabbed to death in a Bingham Street basement. Responding to a distress call at around 1:30 p.m., police discovered a 75-year-old woman and her 58-year-old daughter bearing multiple stab wounds and pronounced dead at the scene, according to officials.
With the motive for the killings still unfathomed, investigators have yet to make any arrests but have taken two men in for questioning – one of them reportedly the husband of the younger victim, discovered with cuts and blood on his hands. Although not confirmed by police, Action News reports this as being a case potentially stemming from domestic turmoil, with sources close to the investigation revealing the presence of blood on the door of a Tacony house, sought out by Philadelphia police executing search warrants later that evening.
At the Bingham Street crime scene, neighbors remain in shock as they try to come to terms with the loss of the victims, who were described as "excellent neighbors." Residents of the street for over 50 years, Jack Burkhardt and his wife recall the victims' active church life and frequent visits from their daughters. "Someone always came, one of the daughters usually, sometimes twice a day, but someone always came to check up on them," Burkhardt told Action News.
Further fueling the neighborhood's distress, vehicles towed away from in front of the residence reportedly had blood found on them. As Action News sources conveyed, this has stirred unease among those who know the area as a peaceful enclave. The Philadelphia Police Department's Homicide Unit continues to unravel the threads of this grim tapestry as they delve deeper into the investigation of what led to these tragic deaths.
