Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The confession of the 36-year-old exterminator Jason Smith who allegedly killed Philadelphia doctor Melissa Ketunuti was read in court Wednesday during a preliminary hearing.
The confession of the 36-year-old exterminator who allegedly killed a Philadelphia doctor was read in court Wednesday during a preliminary hearing, according to several reports. Jason Smith, 36, of Crescent Lane in Levittown will face trial on charges of arson, murder and related charges in the death of his customer, Melissa Ketunuti who was a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, according to an article on PhillyBurbs. Smith told investigators, according to previous Patch reports, that Ketunuti "belittled" him when he was on a freelance exterminator job at her brick-faced townhome at 1728 Nauddain St. in Center City on Jan. 21, which led to an argument that escalated. A transcript from Smith's confession was released by…
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Nakia Adams, 28, was arraigned on Monday on a charge of child endangerment.
Last week a Bristol man was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder in the death of an 18-month-old Bensalem girl. This week the mother of the child is facing criminal charges for child endangerment, police say. Nakia Adams, 28, was arraigned on Monday before Bensalem District Judge Leonard Brown on a charge of endangering the welfare of children, and was released on $75,000 unsecured bail, an article on PhillyBurbs said. Patch previously reported that Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said that the child was abused for "weeks if not months" prior to the incident that led to the her death. Then in court on Jan. 29 when Adrian Allen, 28, was sentenced to life in prison, prosecutor Matt Weintraub said that …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Adrian Allen pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and child endangerment on Tuesday and was sentenced to life in prison.
A Bristol man was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder in the death of an 18-month-old Bensalem girl, according to reports. Adrian Allen, 28, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and child endangerment in the death of his girlfriend's daughter, Barbara Camille Adams of Bensalem, ABC6 and Phillyburbs reported. Allen also pleaded no contest to first-degree murder in the child's death and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole, according to a Phillyburbs article. The child's mother, Nakia Adams was in the courtroom, according to the article, when Allen looked at her and said, "I truly am sorry from the bottom of my heart... I hope what happens today brings you some kind of closure, brings some kind …
Monday, January 28, 2013
Police are testing Smith's DNA in a national database. Also, Smith's former sister-in-law speaks about the Levittown man and more details on his arrest record come out.
Investigators in Philadelphia will run DNA samples taken from alleged murderer and Levittown resident Jason Smith through a national crime database, police said. NBC10 reports that police are comparing Smith’s DNA to that of the Fairmount Park Rapist and samples gathered after several sexual assaults near Pennypack Park in Northeast Philadelphia. City police say the suspect in the Fairmount Park is connected to at least three violent sexual assault cases. All the crimes happened between 2003 and 2007. One of the cases includes the 2003 murder 30-year-old Rebecca Park, a medical student, whose death was caused by strangulation. The suspect in the murder and rapes was described to Mt. Airy Patch in 2011 as a Hispanic male with scars on his …
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Several who knew Crabtree resident Jason Smith, who is accused of murdering a Philadelphia doctor, say he had temper issues in his past.
Prior to his arrest on charges of murder last week, Levittown pest exterminator Jason Smith had a relatively clean criminal record. However, several people close to the 36-year-old father said he had a somewhat troubled past. A former friend of Smith’s who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Patch that the Crabtree section resident could have a temper, but murder was not something he felt his old friend was capable of. Smith's fiance, who shared the two-story Crabtree section house with him, her young daughter and other family members, told 6abc the whole family is upset and knew nothing about the her partner of six year's alleged crime until authorities took him away and shot the family dog Wednesday night. On the WebSlueths.com …
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Police release more details about the murder of Philadelphia doctor Melissa Ketunuti, who was allegedly killed by a Levittown exterminator, Jason Smith.
He was an exterminator; she was a young pediatrician at one of the nation’s most esteemed children’s hospitals. Late Monday morning, police allege, Melissa Ketunuti, 35, and Jason Smith, 36, of Levittown, crossed paths when the freelance exterminator came to her brick-faced townhome at 1728 Nauddain Street in Center City for a scheduled appointment to take care of rodents in the home. Philadelphia police homicide unit Captain James Clark said at a Thursday morning press conference that the two got in some type of argument while in the basement of the doctor’s home. At some point, the argument went “terribly wrong” and escalated to Smith striking Ketunuti, knocking her to the ground. He immediately jumped on top of her and strangled her to …
Police say that Jason Smith, 36, of Levittown, has been charged with the murder of Philadelphia pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti.
Thursday, 11:13 a.m.: During a press conference, Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark, Commanding Officer of Homicide Unit, stated that Jason Smith has been charged with the murder of pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti in addition to an arson and related charges. Detectives used "every bit" of surveillance footage in the area of the victim's home to develop Smith as a suspect. At 10 p.m. Wednesday night, Philadelphia Police, U.S. Marshals and Bristol Police went to Smith's house in Bristol Township and transported him back to the Philadelphia Police homicide unit for questioning. Clark stated that Smith gave detectives a statement, which along with evidence collected, were sufficient enough for murder charges. Ketunuti needed an exterminator…
Friday, January 18, 2013
Joseph Canazaro co-owned Finn McCool's in Ambler. Suspects believed to have fled in victims' pickup truck; described as armed and dangerous
Update, 5:03 p.m. The last murder that occurred in Hilltown Township was in 1990 at 12 Key Drive, when Eric Motis stabbed his neighbor Louise C. Hoopes, 42, a secretary at Grand View Hospital, and her sons Douglas, 16, and Daniel, 14, in their beds. Motis, 26, committed suicide in prison in 1998. Motis was facing three life sentences after pleading guilty at trial in 1991. Update, 4:23 p.m. The Reporter reports the black pickup truck has been located in Upper Bucks County. The truck has been located behind Quakertown Plaza Shopping Center on the 1400 block of West Broad Street in Quakertown. Update, 4:14 p.m. Chief Chris Engelhart has identified the victim as Joseph Canazaro, 48. Canazaro lived at the Swartley Road home with his girlfriend…
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Losses preceded alleged ransom scheme
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Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The man accused of killing a 10-month-old girl and her grandmother in an Upper Merion apartment tower in October had reportedly lost $15,000 gambling at casinos in the week before the crime. The Associated Press reports that 26-year-old Raghunandan Yandamuri told authorities about his gambling losses in a videotaped statement he made following his arrest. The statement was played at his preliminary hearing on Wednesday morning. Authorities have said the murders of Saanvi Venna and her 61-year-old grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, were part of a botched ransom scheme in which Yandamuri planned to demand $50,000 from Saanvi's parents for her safe return. Several copies of a ransom note were found at the murder scene. The Montgomery County …
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Raghunandan Yandamuri remains held without bail at the Montgomery County jail.
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Thursday, November 22, 2012
The man accused of killing an infant girl and her grandmother in an Upper Merion apartment last month may face the death penalty. Phillyburbs.com reports that the Montgomery County district attorney's office is considering seeking a death sentence for Raghunandan Yandamuri, who allegedly killed 10-month-old Saanvi Venna and her 61-year-old grandmother, Satyavathi Venna, on Oct. 22 in a botched ransom plot. Yandamuri remains held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Lower Providence. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 28. Yandamuri has reportedly been assigned as a "mitigation counsel," whose job it would be to defend him against the death penalty. Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin …
Doesn'tMoveLipsWhenReading
7:23 am on Monday, April 15, 2013
Did he "allegedly" confess, or did he confess? It says that his confession was read in the hearing- so to me that means he actually confessed, not allegedly did. Just sayin... more ›