Philly cops: Laundromat owner savagely slain for $100 to $200

When Huan Mo didn't return to her South Philadelphia home Wednesday night after work, her family went looking for her.

What they found will surely haunt them forever: Mo had been repeatedly stabbed to death during a robbery inside the Logan laundromat she owned, at 15th Street and Wyoming Avenue.

Medics declared Mo, 53, of Dickinson Street near 8th, dead at the scene at 11:37 p.m. Homicide Capt. James Clark described the office where Mo was found as "really gruesome," with blood smeared on walls, bloody footprints and coins scattered around the body.

"It appeared she really fought for her life," Clark said. "We believe [the killers] stole $100 to $200. She lost her life for that."

Mo typically arrived at the laundromat at 7:30 a.m., preparing for the day by mopping floors. The family has owned the laundromat for about a year. Mo typically worked 12-hour days.

On Wednesday, her day proceeded uneventfully until sometime after 6:30 p.m., the last time a customer saw her alive, Clark said.

She normally would close the laundromat by 8 p.m. and head straight home, Clark said. When she wasn't home by 9 p.m., her worried husband and teenage son called her cell phone and the laundromat's office phone.

She didn't answer. So they went to the laundromat and found her inside the office, to the right of the front door.

Detectives believe that the killer struck between 6:30 and 8 p.m., forcing Mo into the office to rob her. Police did not recover the murder weapon, believed to be a knife or screwdriver.

The laundromat has no surveillance cameras, but detectives are scouring cameras maintained by nearby businesses for clues, Clark said.

Detectives hope that someone saw something through the laundromat's plate-glass windows, or can describe any unusual activity or anyone lurking.

Tipsters can call detectives at 215-686-3334 or -3335.