Police are investigating the death of an elderly woman whose body was found by her own son.

On February 5, neighbors of 89-year-old Bruna Cossavella, contacted her son, the Reverend Anthony Cossavella, a priest at the St. Andrew Parish in Drexel Hill.

The neighbors told the priest that they had not heard from his mother and were concerned for her wellbeing. Cossavella then went to his mother’s home on the 100 block of E. Plumstead Avenue in Lansdowne around 4:30 p.m. to check on her.

When he arrived, he found his mother lying at the bottom of the basement steps, surrounded by a large amount of blood. She was pronounced dead shortly after by medics who arrived at the scene. Investigators say there were no signs of forced entry into the home.

Due to the large amount of blood, police initially were unable to determine whether the woman had fallen down the steps or if she was a victim of a homicide. Her body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

On Saturday, the Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, determining that she had been beaten and died from stab wounds to the neck.

"This lady was 89-years-old and lived her life twice over," said her neighbor, Tim Kellam. "It makes no sense. It really doesn't."

Lansdowne Police are warning residents in the area to be cautious.

"Don't let anyone into your house that you don't know, especially with the pending snowstorm coming," said Lansdowne Police Chief Daniel Donegan. "If people are asking to shovel your walk, don't invite them into your house."

If you have any information on Cossavella’s death, please call the Lansdowne Police Department at 610- 623-0700.
 

A day after smoke forced the evacuation of a PATCO train in Center City, passengers who say they had to wait for over an hour to get out are demanding answers.

On Monday, a six-car train traveling from Philadelphia to New Jersey was stopped shortly after 5 p.m. after smoke started to fill two of the cars. 

"We began to smell smoke while the train was still moving," said Jody Aiello, one of the passengers. "The car began to fill up with smoke as we were going on the ramp to the bridge."

The train stopped at the base of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge near 7th and Race Streets. Passengers say the smoke began to fill the car and the lights went out.

"There was lots of smoke that you could see and smell," said Kaitlyn Delengowski. "Without communication it was a little frightening."

The passengers say they sat in the dark, waiting for word on what happened.

"Thank God we had our cell phones," said Andrew Ludewig, another passenger. "We actually found out what happened through NBC." 

Aiello says the conductor then began to inform them of the situation.

"The train conductor got on the speaker and said we are evacuating the train and need to move quickly but safely," she said. "That's pretty much the only information we had the entire time."

The passengers were slowly evacuated. They first removed two passengers who had medical issues. Passengers in the two cars where smoke was detected were then moved onto an eastbound train which departed from Franklin Square Station.

Not wanting to wait for the train, some passengers left and went into the station. The remaining passengers were eventually evacuated and no injuries were reported.

"It took about an hour of walking through each car in the dark before we finally got to the ladder and we climbed down off the train," Aiello said. "At that point, we were directed to walk through the tunnel where we were met by more firefighters and police officers with a ladder to climb up to the platform."

Aiello says the remaining passengers waited at Franklin Square as three trains passed before one stopped for them.

"People were cheering and happy to be safe and on our way home," she said.

A different train broke down earlier that same day. On Tuesday, NBC10 spoke with PATCO spokesman Tim Ireland to find out what caused the smoke as well as the delay in the evacuation.

"It was a short on one of the motors on the train," Ireland said.

Ireland suspects the recent cold weather caused the electric motors to burn out.

"They're most likely to short out if there's a snow storm and there's a freeze and a thaw because then you get little pieces of ice," he said.

Officials with the Federal Transit Administration, which oversees PATCO, confirm that it was the weather that shorted out the motors. They also say PATCO was not in violation of any FTA requirements during the incident.

As for the hour and half long wait before passengers were able to leave, Ireland says repairs on one of the tracks and a shortage of empty trains caused the delay.

"When you only have one track running across the Ben Franklin Bridge you can't move trains quickly," Ireland said. "It took three trains to pick up everybody."

PATCO officials also say they believe the public deserves better service and they're working to improve it.

If you receive a missed call on your cell phone from a number that you don’t recognize, you may want to think twice about calling it back. Ocean County officials are warning cell phone users everywhere about a costly scam.

Officials say the “one-ring phone scam” involves the perpetrators using auto-dialing computer programs to call phones all over the country. The scammers let the phone ring once and then hang up, causing a missed call notification to show up on the victim’s cell phone. Victims who call the number back are then connected to a paid “adult entertainment service” located overseas.

Officials say the victims are then charged up front a $19.95 international call fee and then as much as $9 per minute or more for the service. Some scammers charge minimal fees to avoid suspicion but those cases are few, according to investigators.

Officials say the calls normally originate from outside the United States and show area codes from 268,809, 876, 284 and 473.

Officials advise cell phone users to ignore any missed or out of state phone calls that you don’t recognize, especially those with the aforementioned area codes. You should also check your cell phone bill for any unwarranted charges.

“If your curiosity does get the best of you, and you have to know, Google the number first,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director Joseph Vicari said.  “It might save you a hefty phone charge.”

If you believe you were the victim of a scam or would like more info, call the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs at 732-929-2105.
 

As a recent incident in which a man allegedly shoveled in his neighbor's car proves, people can get rather emotional when it comes to their shoveled out parking spots. But in the midst of the recent heavy snow, a Lehigh Valley town is putting a stop to saved parking spaces.

The Wilson Borough Council voted Monday to authorize the public works department to pick up any items used by residents to save on-street parking spots. That means that any chair, garbage cans or other items used to save spaces will be removed on sight.

“I don’t want it to seem like we’re having furniture sales all over the borough,” Wilson Borough Councilman Russ Lipari told Lehigh Valley Live.

Philadelphia has a similar policy when it comes to shoveled out spots. While the practice of placing items on parking spaces that they spent hours shoveling snow out of is a popular one, it’s also illegal.

Last month, a resident tweeted the Philadelphia Police Department, asking if her chair would be arrested for reserving her parking spot. PPD humorously responded by tweeting “#NoSavesies.”

Philly Police say their officers can and will confiscate any item used to reserve a parking space on a city street, and residents can call 911 to report neighbors who are using items to reserve the spaces.

A record $17 million settlement was reached in the death of a local electrician.

In June of 2011, Adam Nowak, Sr., 45, was struck and killed by a 300-pound iron hook that fell from an industrial crane at Veolia Energy’s Schuylkill Steam Plant in the Grays Ferry section of the city.

Nowak’s family and local law firm Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, P.C., filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming that the crane where the hook fell from was “negligently maintained.”

“This incident did not result from a momentary lapse of inattention,” said David Kwass, one of the attorneys for the family. “Our investigation revealed that Veolia had failed to inspect its cranes thousands of times before the accident proving that this was not an unforeseeable act, but rather was predictable based on their utter lack of safety inspections.”

Robert Mongeluzzi, another attorney for the family, also said that the plant had a similar two-block accident back in 2004.

“[[They]] were told their safety limit switches were antiquated and prone to failure and needed to be upgraded,” Mongeluzzi said. “However, Veolia would not spend the $30,000 necessary to upgrade these critical safety devices. Veolia wouldn’t pay the bill and Adam paid with his life.”

Nowak’s estate reached a $17 million wrongful workplace death case settlement, believed to be the largest ever in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Nowak is survived by a wife and five children.

Police are on the hunt for a man who was caught on surveillance video attacking a woman and grabbing her purse.

On February 2, at 9 p.m., a man approached a woman waiting at the Girard Subway station on the Broad Street Line. Surveillance cameras captured the man walking up behind the woman and grabbing her purse, leading to a struggle between the two. The man then snatched the purse away from her and fled the scene.

The woman was not seriously hurt during the incident.

If you have any information on the man’s whereabouts, please call Philadelphia Police.

Also on NBC10.com:

• Sweetening the Pot to Find Young Architect's Killer
• 2 Killed, 2 Hurt During Violent Night in Philly

The coming nor’easter will progress from fluffier snow to heavy, wet snow. That precipitation mixed with strong winds could equate to a new set of issues for people -- including more power outages.

“I’m not as concerned about ice build up, but heavy, wet snow accumulating on tree limbs that were already strained during the last storm, that might be on the edge; so you do have the potential for some more power outages,” said NBC10 First Alert Weather chief meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz.

• HOW TO RESPOND during a WINTER POWER OUTAGE
• DOWNLOAD the FREE NBC10 News and NBC10 First Alert Weather Apps
  
• SIGN UP for FREE NBC10 School Closing Alerts

Flooding can also be a concern should more heavy rainfall, especially when mixed with snow already laying on the ground from past storms.

"I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to relay it," Hurricane said of the forecast. "I know people have had a rough time and some worse than rough and there is no joy in putting out a forecast like this." 

THE TIMELINE

Thursday morning “could be a mess in one way or another” as the worst of the storm moves out leaving the effects in its wake, Hurricane says. Here’s how the storm is expected to shake out.

NORTH & WEST SUBURBS, LEHIGH VALLEY & THE POCONOS

WEDNESDAY
Morning through Afternoon – Sunny, dry and very cold
Nighttime (9 p.m. to Midnight) – Storm begins to move in, Chance of light snow

THURSDAY
Overnight (Midnight – 6 a.m.) – Snow begins to fall and sticks quickly
Morning (6 a.m. – 1 p.m.) -- Heavy snow falls adding to accumulations
Afternoon & Evening (1 p.m. and 10 p.m.) – Transition to sleet and then back to snow

PHILADELPHIA, SOUTH JERSEY AND NORTHERN DELAWARE

WEDNESDAY
Morning through Afternoon – Sunny, dry and very cold
Nighttime (9 p.m. to Midnight) – Storm begins to move in, Snow falls and sticks quickly

THURSDAY
Overnight (Midnight – 6 a.m.) – Heavy snow falls
Morning (6 a.m. – 1 p.m.) -- Snow transitions to sleet and then rain
Afternoon & Evening (1 p.m. and 10 p.m.) – Rain then moves back to snow

INLAND AND COASTAL JERSEY SHORE & SOUTHERN DELAWARE

WEDNESDAY
Morning through Afternoon – Sunny, dry and very cold
Nighttime (9 p.m. to Midnight) – Storm begins to move in, Snow falls and sticks quickly

THURSDAY
Overnight (Midnight – 6 a.m.) – Snow and sleet mix inland, while rain falls at the coast
Morning (6 a.m. – 1 p.m.) -- Snow transitions to heavy rain
Afternoon & Evening (1 p.m. and 10 p.m.) – Rain then moves back to snow for N.J.

ESTIMATED SNOW TOTALS

Lehigh Valley & the Poconos
9 to 12 inches & possibly some mixing of sleet

Upper Montgomery, Chester, Bucks and Mercer Counties
9 to 12 inches & possibly some mixing of sleet

Philadelphia, I-95 Corridor, South Jersey and Northern Delaware
6 to 9 inches & mixing of sleet and possibly rain

Southern Delaware and the Inland Jersey Shore
4 to 6 inches & mixing of sleet and rain

Delaware Beaches and the Jersey Coast
1 to 3 inches & heavy rain with possible flooding 

For more on the nor'easter, click here. Also, check back often to NBC10.com’s Severe Weather Central for the latest information.

The job never stops for crime scene investigators or Olympians – something Lambertville native Kyle Tress knows from his acting work and his athletic career.

"I registered with Central Casting in New York," he said. "Shortly after, I got a call to be on CSI: NY."

"I was walking past Gary Sinise, investigating something," said Kyle, who has also appeared as an extra on Gossip Girl and, in movies, When in Rome and Transformers 2.

Even though he was intrigued by acting, he put that pursuit on hold and turned his focus to a sport he discovered as a 21-year-old.

"I knew that I had to make a decision," he said. "And I chose skeleton."

In the winter sport, athletes sprint for several meters and then launch themselves face-first on a sled nearly double the length of a school cafeteria tray. They slide down the same frozen track used in the bobsled and luge events and can reach speeds up to 90 miles per hour.

"If anyone should be on a Wheaties box, it should be him," said long-time friend John Marriot Jr., who unknowingly witnessed his childhood friend’s first training sessions when they were 12-years-old.

"It started in his father’s armchair," Marriott said.

He and Tress drilled through a sled, threaded a rope through the holes and then raced around the house on their makeshift equipment.

"He would run into our family room," added Gail Tress, the Olympian’s mother. "Jump on these club chairs and pretend he was sliding on the sled."

Yet 32-year-old Kyle says he discovered skeleton while reading a story about Gold-medalist Jim Shea Jr. during the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, when the sport returned to the Olympics after a 48-years long hiatus.

"I didn’t know it existed," he said. "But at that moment, I just knew."

"I was an active kid, but never really played many sports," said Kyle, who played baseball and basketball for only one season each before graduating from South Hunterdon Regional High School in 1999. "[Skeleton] hit all the right notes for me."

"You have the element of danger and adrenaline and speed," he said.

A few months after reading Shea’s story, Kyle tried out for Team USA coaches.

"The very first instructions that I received in skeleton were – don’t let go – and that was it," he said.

Kyle, who normally studied any new interest in its entirety before diving in, called the "trial by ice" a shock but came to understand the coaching strategy.

"You can immediately see who panics and who is a natural," he said, estimating about half the people who slid down the mountain that day walked away.

Despite the bloody elbows and ice burn Kyle suffered during his first week of runs, he, along with fellow Olympians Matt Antoine and Kate Uhlaender, stuck it out.

"He is not the kind of kid that lets things go," said Gail, who described how her son taught himself piano and guitar, as well as computer coding. "Once he has the basics, that’s all he needs and he takes off."

"He has always been naturally gifted. It used to drive me nuts as a kid," added Marriott, who recalled the duo’s interest in skateboarding around 8-years-old.

"Ten minutes into skateboarding, I’m learning to balance on the board," he said. "And [Kyle] is doing kickflips.”

Since there is no feeder sport to skeleton, it often takes about eight years for athletes to gain the skills and experiences necessary to succeed, Kyle said.

And it also takes money. Equipment for the sport, including a sled and several sets of runners, could cost as much as $10,000, he said.

"Skeleton doesn’t pay much, but it is something I love and I’ll pursue it relentlessly," he said.

Kyle and another former skeleton athlete, Chris Nurre, teamed up to develop apps for the iPhone and other Apple devices through their company, A Tiny Tribe.

"It doesn’t make a ton of money, but it is enough for me to pursue this," Kyle said.

About six years after committing to the sport full-time, which includes training for six hours a day six days a week, and less than a year after forming the mobile app development company, Kyle started to break through the skeleton ranks.

He earned his first world ranking – 26th—following the 2008-09 Intercontinental Cup, the first step above junior circuits.

At the start of the following season, he earned three gold medals at the America’s Cup, sweeping the men’s skeleton competitions.

Although he had a strong 2009-10 season, it wasn’t enough to take a spot away from Eric Bernotas, Zach Lund or current teammate John Daly.

Even though he was disappointed, Kyle bounced back. “Once I start worrying about something like that, I could worry about 100 other things that are outside my control,” he said.

He continued to train, steadily improving over the next few years until a break-out 2013-14 season in which he placed in the top ten in three different World Cup competitions.

“Once things start going well, I don’t want to mess with anything,” he said.

Kyle will hit the track in Sochi on Feb. 14.

And Americans can rest assured the 2014 Olympic Games won’t be the last time they hear of the athlete-slash-actor-slash-software developer.

A stabbing left a teenage boy fighting for his life.

And, according to Philadelphia Police, a teenage girl nearly pushed the knife into the boy's heart.

Philadelphia Police responded to the area of S 22nd and Moore Streets in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia around 8 p.m. Tuesday to find a 14-year-old boy suffering from a wound to his chest.

"Police transported him to Children's Hospital where he's presently in very critical condition," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said a short time later.

Small said the knife touched the boy's heart. The unidentified teen underwent emergency heart surgery and it wasn't clear if the boy would survive, according to investigators.

The stabbing actually happened a short distance from where the boy was found. Police said they found blood a couple blocks away on the 2100 block of Watkins Street.

"After being stabbed we believe the boy walked to the 2100 block of S 22nd Street where he collapsed on the sidewalk," said Small.

Witnesses told police that a 15-year-old girl, who is known to the victim, stabbed the boy during an argument.

The girl was arrested about a half a mile away from the scene of the crime and remained in custody Wednesday morning, according to investigators.