Two people found dead with their throats slashed in Kensington, police said

Two people — a man and a woman — were found dead with their throats slashed Wednesday night in Kensington, police said.

Just before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Philadelphia police officers arrived at a house on the 3000 block of Ruth Street to find the man, about 45 years old, and the woman, about in her mid-30s, on the second floor with their necks slashed, police said. Both people — who had not been identified as of Thursday afternoon — were pronounced dead at the scene.

A knife was found at the scene, but no arrests have been made.

Mike Fernandez, who lives in a lot adjacent to the vacant house, said he was woken up shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday by an awful stench coming from the building. With a friend, Fernandez went into the building through a back door to investigate, he said.

As the two walked up the stairs, they were hit with a rotting smell.

“It was a terrible stink,” said Fernandez. “The smell was so terrible I couldn’t even look.”

Fernandez, in the moment before he and his friend went back downstairs, said he saw the bodies of a man and a woman. He said he did not get a good enough look at them to tell if he recognized them. Blood was dripping from the second floor to the first, he said.

The block of Ruth Street is plagued by drugs and violence, said Fernandez. But moving is difficult, if not impossible, for many residents.

“Everywhere we go it’s dangerous,” he said. “Kids can’t even walk in the streets.”