The Killing Streets

There have been 11 homicides in Frankford so far, this year.

Below are listed the names of the people who were victims of homicide and the circumstances of the crime that took their lives.  They were people with futures and possibilities that were lost the instant they died.  They left wives, parents, children and friends behind.  They should not be anonymous nor forgotten and we should not accept these deaths as normal.

Eric Robinson, 35, (no picture available) was talking to a woman on the sidewalk outside of a business about 8:30 PM on the 4500 block of Melrose Street on Thursday, January 12^th.  A man, who had been waiting inside the business then exited and fired 7 shots, killing him. No arrest has been made in this case.

Emanuel Ervin, 21-year-old father of a 4 year old son, was shot in the head, neck and chest on Tuesday, January 31^st at about 9 PM at 4825 Tackawanna Street.  He was taken to Einstein Hospital where he later died.  No arrest has been made in this case.

Harold Aiken, 23, was shot in the head and hand on Tuesday, April 4^th, on the 2000 block of Bridge Street at about 9:15 PM.  He was rushed to Aria Hospital Torresdale where he died the next day. No arrest has been made in this case.

Kenyon Childs, 27 years old, died of injuries when he was shot multiple times in the head and torso at about 11:20 AM on the 1300 block of Bridge Street near Oakland on June 19^th at about 7:20 AM.  He lived on the 5300 block of Castor Avenue.  No arrest has been made in this case.

Kristian Scott, (no picture available) 24 year old father of a 3 year old son, was walking along Torresdale Avenue near Scattergood Street on Wednesday, June 21^st at about 9:30 PM when someone came up to him and fired 3 shots with 2 of them hitting him in the chest.  Officers took him to Aria Health-Torresdale where he died the next morning.  No arrest has been made in this case.

Robert DePaul, 45, and August Dempsey, 42, were a couple who were shot by their next-door neighbor on July 15^th at about 10 PM on the 4700 block of James Street.  Kenneth D. Hoyle has been arrested and charged.

Michelle Saint-Aude, 25, (no picture available) was shot several times by a former boyfriend on July 18^th at about 1:10 PM on the 1200 block of Sanger Street.  She was transported to Einstein Hospital where she was pronounced dead.  The shooter was identified by police and after a 7 hour standoff, took his own life.

Jose Reyes, 37, (no picture available) was on the 1600 block of Margaret Street on July 16^th at about 9:25 PM when he was shot and killed in an apparent robbery.  No arrest has been made in this case.

Jamie Ricks, 54 year old father of two, was shot and killed in an apparent attempted robbery on Friday, September 1^st at 1:15 AM on his way home from work.  No arrest has been made in this case.

Michael Jones, 25, (no picture available) was shot and killed on the 1500 block of Dyre Street right at the 7-Eleven on Frankford Avenue.  Kevin Robinson, age 20,  was arrested by Officer Hugo Lemos for this crime on October 4th.  He is being held at the Curran-Fromhold Corrections Facility.  He had previously been arrested on the 5200 block of Frankford Avenue on May 26th for a narcotics violation and on August 17 of 2016 for Robbery on the 4700 block of Griscom Street.

 You can see that no arrest has been made in most of these cases.  If you have information about any of these crimes, you can make an anonymous tip. Call 215.686.TIPS (8477) or email tips@phillypolice.com. Include as many details as you can.

Information for this story came from news reports, the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Obituary Project.