Pediatrician Found Hogtied, Burning in Philadelphia Home

$75,000 Reward Offered in Philadelphia School Kidnapping

Jan 272013

(PHILADELPHIA, Pa.) — After a 5-year-old girl was kidnapped from a Philadelphia school and assaulted earlier this week, community leaders banded together to offer a $75,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible.

According to police, the child was taken from her school Monday morning by a woman wearing Muslim garb and calling herself either “Tiffany” or “Rashida.”

The girl was then taken to a house in the area where she was blindfolded and assaulted. The child was discovered early the next morning, when a passerby named Nelson Mandela Myers discovered her crying on a playground wearing only a t-shirt.

“She said she was cold and that somebody was chasing her and she ran,” Myers told ABC station WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.

The child was admitted and then released from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia after she was found.

In a joint press conference Friday, community leaders and law enforcement officials aimed to draw attention to the case by offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

The largest single contribution came from the office of State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, who raised $30,000 for the reward.

“I will work night and day from now until the time this person’s condemned to hell,” Williams said.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter’s office donated $10,000 to the reward.

“It’s gutless, it’s heartless, it’s inhumane. We will find you, we’ll do whatever it takes,” Nutter said of the perpetrators.

The U.S. Marshals and the FBI have already started to aid the Philadelphia police with their investigation.

Officials are looking for both the woman who took the child from school and a male suspect who was at the house where the child was taken. Officials say they believe the girl was taken only a few blocks from the school and officers joined by police cadets have been canvassing the area. However, no suspects have been named.

“That neighborhood should not, cannot return to normal, until someone and we know someone out there knows who perpetrated this crime,” said Capt. John Darby, Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit.

Additionally the security lapses that allowed the girl to leave her school with a stranger will be investigated, according to the Philadelphia School Superintendent William Hite.

“We are going to deal with the individuals responsible for this breach,” Hite told WPVI-TV. “There were procedural breakdowns in this school.”

The substitute teacher who let the girl leave with the unidentified woman, and a non-teaching assistant who worked at the security desk have both been put on leave.

Alleged Philly Doctor Killer Had Anger Issues, Family Friend Says

Jan 252013

Comstock/Thinkstock(PHILADELPHIA) — Jason Smith, the Philadelphia exterminator who police say showed up at the home of Dr. Melissa Ketunuti this week to solve her rodent problem before strangling her, was a problem child as an adolescent, a family friend told ABC News.

The family friend from many years ago, who asked for anonymity, said Smith, 36, had behavior and anger issues, and that he also liked to set things on fire.

After Smith and Ketunuti got into “some kind of argument” in Ketunuti’s basement, he struck her, strangled her and set her on fire, according to police.

Smith reportedly admitted to the brutal slaying after hours of police questioning Wednesday night. Smith told police that Ketunuti had “belittled” him, sources told ABC News affiliate WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.

He snapped and apparently tried to hide any evidence by setting the 35-year-old doctor on fire with paper he lit in the kitchen, the station reported.

Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia Police Department said Smith’s mood and clarity varied during his alleged confession.

“At some points, he was solemn. At other points, it was like he was in a fog,” Clark said at a news conference.

Smith has been charged with murder, arson, abuse of a corpse and risking a catastrophe.

Ori Feibush, who owns a coffee shop near Ketunuti’s street, said he and police pored over hours of surveillance video until they saw Ketunuti walking home from doing errands, with Smith steps behind her.

“Forty-five minutes later, we see this same guy walking past, but [he] looks a little more disheveled and he’s got gloves on,” Feibush told ABC News.

Police say that after the slaying, Smith circled Ketunuti’s block twice, before heading off to another job.

Ketunuti was a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and had lived alone in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of the city for about three years. Her family released a statement saying they are “devastated by this senseless act of violence.”

“Melissa’s friends from childhood, college, residency and elsewhere remember her many kindnesses, even during long hours, as well as her zest for life: traveling, running and spending time with friends and family,” the statement said. “Melissa was a source of joy to everyone in her life. Her passing has left an enormous gap in our lives.”

Philadelphia Exterminator Charged in Doctor’s Killing

Jan 242013

Comstock/Thinkstock(PHILADELPHIA) — Philadelphia-area exterminator Joseph Smith was arrested and charged on Thursday in the strangling and burning death of pediatrician Melissa Ketunuti.

Smith, 36, had been sent to Ketunuti’s home on a service call, where the two got into “some kind of argument” in Ketunuti’s basement on Monday, Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia police department said Thursday morning.

“At her home they go into argument. It went terribly wrong. He struck her, and knocked her down,” Clark said. “Immediately he jumped on top of her, started strangling her. She passed out, and then he set her body on fire.”

The developments came after investigators collected hours of surveillance video and canvassed the neighborhood where police on Monday found Ketunuti’s body. Ketunuti, 35, was a doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

A silver Ford truck was towed from Smith’s Levittown home, which was the same truck spotted on surveillance video Monday in Ketunuti’s neighborhood, sources told ABC News affiliate WPVI.

Smith was spotted on video getting out of the vehicle and following Ketunuti to her home. The man left her home after an hour and was seen on video circling her home, sources told WPVI.

Ketunuti’s body was found Monday in the basement of her Graduate Hospital-area row house after her dog walker called 911. Her wrists and ankles were bound behind her back, and she was on fire, police said.

The pediatrician was fully clothed and there were no signs of sexual assault, sources said.

Clark said she was strangled with a rope.

Person of Interest in Custody in Probe of Philly Doctor’s Killing

Jan 242013

Comstock/Thinkstock(PHILADELPHIA) — A person of interest is in police custody in connection to the killing of a Philadelphia pediatrician found bound by her hands and feet and on fire in the basement of her home.

The man is a 37-year-old exterminator from Levittown, Pa., ABC News affiliate WPVI-TV in Philadelphia reported. He was taken to police headquarters in Philadelphia at about 9:00 p.m. Wednesday.

An arrest could be made as early as Thursday, ABC News sources said Wednesday night.

The developments came after investigators collected hours of surveillance video and canvassed the neighborhood where police on Monday found the body of Melissa Ketunuti, 35, a beloved doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

A silver Ford truck was towed from the person of interest’s Levittown home, which was the same truck spotted on surveillance video Monday in Ketunuti’s neighborhood, sources told WPVI.

The man who owns the truck was spotted on video getting out of the vehicle and following Ketunuti to her home. The man left her home after an hour and was seen on video circling her home, sources told WPVI.

Police did not say whether Ketunuti knew the man.

The pediatrician was fully clothed and there were no signs of sexual assault, sources said.

Investigators said she had been strangled with a rope. But they are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

With no evidence of forced entry, police wondered whether she knew whoever attacked her.

“We don’t know if she walked in on individuals inside of her property,” Philadelphia police Capt. James Clark said on Wednesday, before police took the person of interest into custody. “We don’t know if it’s a known doer or an unknown doer.”

There was no clear motive, and nothing appeared to have been stolen. Police have questioned Ketunuti’s boyfriend, but he has not been declared a suspect.

“We haven’t ruled out anyone,” Clark said.

Pediatrician Found Hogtied, Burning in Philadelphia Home

Jan 232013

ABC News(PHILADELPHIA) — Investigators in Philadelphia are trying to unravel a baffling mystery after a hogtied pediatrician was found dead and on fire in the basement of her home.

Police found Melissa Ketunuti, 35, a beloved doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Monday in her Center City basement after her dog walker called 911. Her wrists and ankles were bound behind her back, and she was on fire, police said.

Investigators said she had been strangled with a belt around her neck. Strangulation appeared to be the cause of death, police say, but they are awaiting the results of an autopsy.

With no evidence of forced entry, police wonder whether she knew whoever attacked her.

“We don’t know if she walked in on individuals inside of her property,” Philadelphia police Capt. James Clark said. “We don’t know if it’s a known doer or an unknown doer.”

There’s no clear motive, and nothing appeared to have been stolen. Police have questioned Ketunuti’s boyfriend, but he has not been declared a suspect.

Ketunuti lived alone on a quiet street, and had been there for about three years.

“[She was] super pleasant, really nice,” one neighbor said. “Just super friendly.”

Ketunuti’s hospital issued a statement Tuesday that she was “a warm, caring, earnest, bright young woman with her whole future ahead of her,” adding that she will be deeply missed.

“It’s going to be just a horrible thing for her family,” a neighbor said. “She was just a very nice person, very full of life.”

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