New police video may show gunman in S. Phila. slaying

Authorities yesterday released an enhanced video that may show the gunman leaving the area where 23-year-old Beau Zabel, an aspiring teacher from Minnesota, was killed in South Philadelphia.

Homicide detectives hope the video - which can be viewed at www.philly.com - will help them identify the man seen concealing an object in his waistband near the 800 block of Ellsworth Street, where Zabel was shot in the neck early Sunday morning.

"He's someone that we absolutely would like to identify, bring him in, and talk to him," said Homicide Capt. James Clark.

Zabel, who left Minnesota about six weeks ago to teach math in the city while he earning a teaching certificate at Drexel University, was robbed and slain about 1:30 a.m. Sunday. His iPod was stolen from his front left pocket.

Detectives studied surveillance tapes from South Philadelphia businesses near the scene and surrounding areas and have video recordings from two businesses that show a "person of interest," Clark said.

"He's mulling around a half-block from where the homicide happened," Clark said. "A couple minutes right after the fact, he puts an object down . . . he walks away, he comes back, takes the object and puts it back into his pants, and then he takes off."

The shooting happened outside the range of the cameras.

Police described the man they seek as black, 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, with a medium build. He was wearing dark jeans, a white T-shirt, and white sneakers.

The man is seen on Alter Street, which runs parallel to Ellsworth. Police initially believed he placed an object in the wheel well of a parked vehicle, but after taking a closer look, he is seen placing it in a flower pot. Within a short time, he returns, retrieves the object, lifts his shirt, and places the object in his waistband as he casually walks north on Eighth Street, turns onto Washington Avenue, and goes out of the camera's range.

The grainy images show no clear picture of the man's face or anything that stands out on the clothing.

Authorities said they believed the images captured in the enhanced video all happened after the shooting. Another video has images that are harder to discern but also show what police said is the same man before the shooting.

Zabel, who had a temporary job at Starbucks at Fourth and South Streets, had just finished his shift and was walking to his apartment in the 900 block of Ellsworth.

Relatives have said Zabel entered the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows program because it would allow him to teach in city public schools while getting his certification.

Zabel was the second of three children and an Eagle Scout who grew up in the small city of Austin, just north of the Iowa border. He graduated in 2007 from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.

Zabel's relatives arrived Monday in Philadelphia to collect his belongings and arranged for his remains to be cremated. Lana Zamora, Zabel's mother, said yesterday she would take the ashes to Minnesota, where services will be held.

Visitation is scheduled for 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Worlein Funeral Home, 1801 Fourth St. N.W., Austin, Minn. A private funeral service is scheduled for Saturday in Austin.