3 weekend homicides are linked, police say
A Delaware man, found dead in a car trunk, is thought to have been connected to 2 Chester killings.
Delaware police have joined Philadelphia police investigating the death of a man found in the trunk of a car in Grays Ferry early yesterday. Authorities say they believe the slaying is connected to the weekend execution-style killings of two women in Chester - but aren't saying how.
The body of Maurice Goodman, 35, of New Castle, Del., was found in the trunk of a rented 2008 Cadillac in the 1200 block of South 27th Street at 1:51 a.m., police said. An autopsy determined he had been asphyxiated and suffered blunt head trauma from a beating.
The discovery came after family members contacted the New Castle County Police Department to report Goodman, of Wildfire Lane, as a missing person. Investigators learned from the family that Goodman recently rented a car from a local agency, and that the vehicle was equipped with the OnStar navigation and tracking system, which led police to Philadelphia.
With the assistance of the OnStar service, the car trunk was opened remotely. Inside, officers from New Castle County and Philadelphia found a dead man wrapped in a blanket, later identified as Goodman.
Lt. Frank Vanore of the Philadelphia Police Public Affairs Unit said authorities believe the slaying may not have happened in Philadelphia. New Castle County Police Cpl. Trinidad Navarro confirmed last night that New Castle police were working a joint investigation with the Philadelphia and Chester Police Departments because of links in the cases. The Delaware State Fire Marshal's Office is assisting.
"We have determined that they're related," Navarro said. But authorities are not yet ready to say how.
The two women were shot multiple times and left on the street to die about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, in an alley in the 900 block of West Mary Street, Chester Police Capt. Joe Massi said.
Police identified the women as Elegant McGriff, age unknown, and Jeanea Irvin, 33, both of Edgemoor, Del., near Wilmington.
On Sunday at 3:30 a.m., New Castle County Police received a request from the Chester Police Department to make death notifications regarding the two women. County officers contacted the family of one of the victims at a residence on South Cannon Drive.
After making the first notification, officers went to the second address, where Irvin lived, on North Cannon Drive, where no one answered the door. The residence was locked and secure.
Later Sunday, at noon, New Castle County Police and the local fire company responded to that residence for a report of an open door and the scent of gasoline near the home. When firefighters arrived, they found no fire. Crime-scene detectives entered the home and found evidence of an attempted arson as well as an apparent bloodstain, authorities said.
Meanwhile, Goodman's family had contacted the New Castle County police to report him missing.
The slayings occurred over a particularly violent weekend. Over a seven-hour period in Chester that ended early Sunday, seven people were shot, including the two woman found dead. It does not appear the deaths of the women were related to other shootings in Chester over the weekend, authorities said.
Police are asking that anyone with information about any of the shootings call 610-447-7908.