Body found in Chesco pond ID'd as teacher, 24
The body of a woman found Monday attached to a cinder block in a popular Chester County swimming hole was identified Thursday as that of a 24-year-old teacher, described as "outgoing and sociable."
Update: Chester County Coroner's Office also has confirmed the identity of the body.
The body of a woman found Monday attached to a cinder block in a popular Chester County swimming hole was identified Thursday as that of a 24-year-old teacher, described as "outgoing and sociable."
District Attorney Tom Hogan said that the body of Ryan Stevyn Benjamin, of East Vincent Township, had been thrown into the Pigeon Creek pond in East Coventry Township "like a piece of trash."
The District Attorney's Office said that the woman was a graduate of Juniata College and a prekindergarten teacher. She had worked at the Warwick Child Care Center's South Coventry Center.
"The victim was an outgoing and sociable young woman with many friends in the West Chester area," Hogan said in a news release. "This is a very active investigation."
When authorities pulled the victim from the pond late Monday morning, they discovered that the body had been tied to a cinder block.
Although it was not clear how the woman died, Hogan said, she was dead before the body was dumped into the pond. No water was found in the lungs, which ruled out drowning, and the body showed no signs of gunshot wounds, bluntforce trauma or strangulation, prosecutors said.
Through interviews, investigators determined that children had been swimming in the pond Sunday afternoon, so the body must have been placed there afterward.
An unidentified person reported finding the body at about 11:15 a.m. on Memorial Day.
Hogan said that police had received a phone tip from a woman about the identity Wednesday morning.
He would not say how she knew the victim, who was identified through a distinctive tattoo on her left shoulder, the rings on her fingers, and her physical description, the D.A.'s Office said.
After DNA and dental record comparisons, the Chester County Coroner's Office late Thursday Friday formally confirmed the body was Benjamin's.
Anyone with information is asked to call Chester County Detective Sgt. Tom Goggin at 610-344-6866.
Update: This article has been updated to correct the name of the child care branch at which Benjamin worked and Benjamin's hometown.
mbond@philly.com 610-313-8207 @MichaelleBond