Philadelphia resident Tyheem Tyler, 34, is facing serious charges after being indicted on counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, and aiding and abetting. The indictment, as detailed by the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, accuses Tyler of first robbing Wey Um at his Philadelphia business at gunpoint on March 6, 2023. United States Attorney David Metcalf then alleges that weeks later, Tyler, accompanied by unnamed co-conspirators, kidnapped Um from outside his home. The subsequent events led to Um's death near the Delaware River.
The court documents outline a distressing sequence of events where supposedly, Tyler and his co-conspirators arrived in a Ford Explorer SUV at Um's residence and forcibly took him in the early hours of March 31. The time near 2:12 a.m. was marked when they drove near Philadelphia's Delaware River, where his life was tragically ended. Having traversed state lines in the course of the crime, the use of interstate commerce means was invoked as part of the allegations against Tyler.
The combined efforts of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department led to the arrest and indictment of Tyler. Assistant United States Attorneys Everett Witherell and Timothy Lanni are leading the prosecution on this distressing case. They're seeking justice for a crime where, as the indictment alleges, Tyler "knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully seized, confined, kidnapped, abducted, carried away, and held, and aided and abetted the unlawful seizing, confining, abduction, carrying away, and holding of, Wey Um, deceased, for ransom, reward, and otherwise," as mentioned on the U.S. Attorney's Office. The weight of these charges hang heavy in the air, with a potential sentence of life imprisonment or death if Tyler is found guilty.
