A Philly man is facing murder charges for an ‘execution-style’ double homicide in Fairmount Park. Police are looking for his alleged accomplice.
Police are also searching for Lamar Young's alleged accomplice, a 56-year-old woman, in the killings.
Police said a Philadelphia man is expected to be charged with murder in connection with the “execution-style” killings of two people who were found in East Fairmount Park last month and they are searching for a woman who is suspected of helping him.
Lamar Young, 52, was arrested March 5 on unrelated gun charges and will be charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, and related crimes for the killings of Thurston Cooper, 49, and Krystina Chambers, 38, on the 3800 block of Mount Pleasant Drive, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.
Young, of the 4800 block of North 12th Street, is being held at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, said Vanore.
Last week, police also had a 56-year-old woman in custody who was questioned about the killings, said Vanore. The woman was released because there was insufficient evidence to charge her at that time, he said. Police did not release her name because she was not charged.
Now, he said, the woman is also expected to face a murder charge, and police are searching for her.
Shortly before 11 p.m. Feb. 29, police responded to a report of a body on the 3800 block of Mount Pleasant Drive, half a block from the historic Mount Pleasant Mansion, which has been closed to the public since 2023.
When police arrived, they found Chambers with gunshot wounds to the head and chest, lying next to Cooper, who also had a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers found three spent shell casings next to the bodies.
The slayings of Cooper, of the 1500 block of Chew Avenue, and Chambers, of the 500 block of Devereaux Avenue, are believed to be the result of an argument that started at an Olney bar and ended violently in the dark of Fairmount Park, said Vanore.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed Cooper and Chambers with Young and the unidentified woman at Tellups Tavern, said Vanore. In the video footage, the four are seen leaving the bar together and then later in the area of Mount Pleasant Drive, said Vanore.
Police believe the two victims got into an argument with Young and the woman at the bar, he said. It was unclear whether the victims and suspects previously knew each other and what the argument was about.
Staff writer Samantha Melamed contributed to this article.