A 41-year-old missing Camden woman was found dead on Wednesday.
The body of Fatima Perez was found buried in a shallow grave near Clayton Road between Corkery Lane and Tuckahoe Road in Monroe Township, New Jersey around 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Investigators say Perez died from asphyxiation and ruled her death a homicide. Police suspect Perez had been strangled in Camden County and her body was taken across county lines to Middlesex County to be buried.
"For a woman of her character and stature to have died in this manner is horrible and very traumatic to her family," said Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk.
Perez, a mother of two, was first reported missing on Monday from her home on the 400 block of N. 41st Street in Camden.
Family members say Perez was leaving to buy a new car and was carrying $8,000 in cash. They also say she was with two men at the time, including her landscaper. Her family suspects money was the motive behind her murder.
Police say two men were detained in connection to the investigation and are considered persons of interest. The men have not yet been identified however.
Fatima's mother told NBC10 that her daughter came to America from Nicaragua eight years ago for a better life.
A man who was shot in the face during a family reunion inside a hotel in Southwest Philadelphia died from his injuries, according to police.
Police say the unidentified, 34-year-old man, was attending a family reunion party inside the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel along the 4100 block of Island Avenue Tuesday night.
As he was attending, police say Jose Williams, 49, unexpectedly showed up.
Williams, the estranged father of a 1-year-old child who was at the party, got into an argument with another person in attendance, police said.
The 34-year-old victim then asked Williams to take a walk outside to calm down, but as they walked down the hallway, Williams allegedly pulled out a pistol and fired at the victim's face, according to investigators.
The alleged shooter then fled the scene -- running across busy Interstate 95 -- before being spotted by a cab driver who alerted police. Williams was arrested a short time later.
The victim was hospitalized in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Tuesday night. On Wednesday he died from his injuries.
Williams was initially charged with Attempted Murder, Simple Assault and other related offenses. Investigators have not yet revealed whether the charges against him will be upgraded to murder now that the victim has died.
This shooting was one of six that took place over a few short hours Tuesday night -- resulting in nine shooting victims.
The "dog days of summer" are now officially coming to Wildwood. Starting Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer, man's best friend will be able to play on the Wildwood beach.
The Wildwood board of commissioners passed an ordinance that allows canines on the beach and boardwalk year-round. Before Wednesday night's decision, dogs were only allowed on Wildwood beaches from October to mid-May but banned during the summer.
Board members say allowing dogs access during the summer could help tourism.
"The pets have become so much a part of the family and now we're going to take what was going to be a day tripper and turn them into a multi-day tripper because they're going to be able to bring their pets," said Peter Byron, Wildwood's Commissioner of Revenue and Finance/Beach services.
The Wildwood Dog Beach will be a block and a half in length and feature water stations, doggy bags and signs telling owners to clean up after their pets. The measure goes into effect Memorial Day Weekend.
Police are investigating several attempted child lurings in Bucks County that took place over the last two days.
Police say an unidentified man tried to lure two young girls on Croft Drive in Bedminster Township between 5:10 p.m. and 5:16 p.m. on Wednesday.
During both incidents, police say the suspect offered the girls candy to come inside his vehicle. Both girls ran away however.
The suspect is described as a white male between the ages of 40 and 50 with a brownish-red beard. Police also say he was driving a black, older model vehicle with dents and scratches.
Police are also investigating two other lurings in Solebury Township that occurred Tuesday and Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, police say an unidentified man driving a full-size white van with a ladder on top, approached several children in the North Pointe neighborhood of Solebury. The suspect, described as a 50-year-old man with grey hair, allegedly told the children he would give them a basketball if they came over to his van.
Police also say the same suspect, traveling in the same vehicle, was spotted in the Riverwoods community of New Hope, Pa. on Wednesday.
If you have any information on any of the suspects, please call the Bedminster Township Police Department at 215-795-2972 or the Solebury Township Police at 215-348-7400.
A Delaware County teacher who was already arrested twice for allegedly sexually assaulting several of his students, was arrested again on Wednesday after police say another victim came forward.
Paul E. Hochschwender, 54, of Broomall, was re-arrested on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and indecent assault on a person less than 13-years-old.
The newest charge alleges that Hochschwender inappropriately touched a 1st grade student on the buttocks while he was teaching at Ithan Elementary School in February of 2000. The 21-year-old woman says she was 6-years-old at the time of the alleged assault.
During her interview with police, the woman claimed Hochschwender sucked her ear, made her sit on his lap and placed his hands in her pants.
After his arrest on Wednesday, Hochschwender was released on $50,000 bail.
Hochschwender was already arrested twice in April and March for allegedly assaulting other students that he taught.
He was charged in March with inappropriately touching students, corruption of minors and sexual assault after two of his students and one former student came forward. In April he faced more charges, including nine counts of institutional sexual assault, 17 counts of indecent assault of a person under 13, and nine counts of corruption of minors, after four more students and another former student came forward.
Hochschwender taught second grade at Darby Township School and also once coached soccer and baseball for youth teams.
Back on March 6, the mother of one of Hochschwender’s students told officials that her daughter was sexually assaulted by the teacher. The 7-year-old girl told police that Hochschwender touched her private parts while she was seated at her desk.
The girl told police that Hochschwender placed her hand on her shoulder before touching her private parts and that he would often pick her up, hold her close and touch her buttocks.
The girl accused the teacher of touching another classmate in a similar fashion. The second alleged victim, another 7-year-old girl, also told police that Hochschwender inappropriately touched her.
Police then interviewed a third alleged victim, a 14-year-old girl, who claimed Hochschwender inappropriately touched her when she was a 5th grade student in his class two years ago. The teen told police she gave a written statement to the school’s principal as well as a list of names of other students who were inappropriately touched by the teacher.
Five more female students, including four 7-year-old girls and an 18-year-old girl, later came forward, accusing Hochschwender of inappropriately touching them.
One of the 7-year-old girls told police that Hochschwender offered her candy and placed it in her pocket while touching her private areas.
The 18-year-old girl told police that Hochschwender inappropriately touched her several times between 2006 and 2007 when she was a 5th grade student at Darby Township.
“It was kind of a normal thing for him that when you would go up to ask him a question, he would touch your shoulder and grab your hands,” she said. “He would just always grab my hand and I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought that was him. He’s a touchy feely guy who didn’t know what personal space was.”
The teen claimed he grabbed her hand and placed it near his penis during one of the incidents. She says she tried to pull away but he kept his hands there.
According to the teen, Hochschwender would always touch her hands when she talked to him, touch her shoulder and whisper in her ear, saying, ‘hey how are you doing?”
The teen says she then went to the school’s guidance counselor and told her about what happened. According to the criminal complaint, the victim claimed the guidance counselor made her feel guilty about coming forward.
“The guidance counselor made comments about his family and his job and running his career,” police wrote in a criminal complaint.
The teen says the guidance counselor then reported the allegation to the school’s principal and called her mother. Police say she repeated the allegation a second time to the principal and a third time during a meeting with her mother. Each time, the teen says she was made to feel guilty for bringing up the allegation.
“The next day or a few days later they got Mr. Hochschwender involved,” the teen told police. “My mom, Mr. Hochschwender, who was next to me, the principal and the guidance counselor. So they bring him in and he knows the issue and I’m just thinking, ‘why is he here? Why did you bring him here?’”
The teen told police she was so shaken by Hochschwender’s presence that she denied the allegations she previously made against him.
“I know I’m going to deny it because I have him as a teacher in class and I don’t get to change classes,” she said. “I’m in the class all day with him. I’m freaking out inside and the principal is telling me you need to explain to us what happened.”
The teen says she was in a panic however.
“Mr. Hochschwender, he was just kind of dead silent,” she said. “He said a few words but I don’t remember what he said. He had like a smile on his face, like nothing is going to happen, nothing is going to happen to me. My mom explained the issue exactly how I said it to her. Mr. Hochschwender was just shrugging his shoulders. I just completely denied the whole thing. They just kept trying, pushing me on to get the issue out. I denied it. And it was because he was there.”
The teen told police that after the meeting she returned to his class. Hochschwender later approached her and told her if he ever inappropriately touched her again that she should “give him a signal.”
According to officials, the complaints the girl made were never reported to police until last March, several years after.
Hochschwender was placed on administrative leave at the school after he was first arrested. The District Attorney is currently investigating whether the school district did enough to protect children at the school.
NBC10 spoke to Dorothy Gallagher, the Delaware County School Board President, for comment.
"As the school board president and a mom and a grandma, my heart just breaks for the families and for these children," Gallagher said. "I don't know exactly what to say."
Investigators say the wife of the mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania was carjacked at gunpoint Wednesday night.
According to police, Jourdeanna Linder parked in front of her home on the 500 block of Raeney Street in Chester City around 10 p.m.
Suddenly, police say, three men, at least one armed with a gun, approached her car and demanded that she get out. Linder got out of her vehicle and the suspects drove off down I-95.
Linder was not hurt during the ordeal.
Police eventually recovered Linder's car while a K-9 unit tracked the three suspects to their home. Police say all three men were arrested, taken into custody and are currently being processed. They have not yet revealed their identities.
In addition to his role as mayor, John Linder is also the director of the City Department of Public Affairs, which oversees the Chester Police Department.
Be sure to watch NBC10 News on Thursday, starting at 4 a.m., for more details on this developing story.
A Gloucester County man and self-proclaimed real estate expert is accused of running a widespread Ponzi scheme that police say netted him more than $3 million in profits.
Randy Poulson, 42, of Woolwich Township, was arrested Wednesday morning by special agents with the Philadelphia FBI and charged with mail fraud. Investigators say that Poulson, the former owner and operator of Equity Capital Investments LLC , was actually running a multimillion-dollar real estate scam.
Poulson allegedly promised to pay the mortgages of distressed homeowners facing foreclosure if they sold their homes to him. Investigators say Poulson obtained the deeds to more than 25 distressed homeowners’ residences through this method, causing them to vacate the homes so renters could move on.
Poulson then allegedly stopped making the monthly mortgage payments, causing the mortgages to go into foreclosure unbeknownst to the distressed homeowners.
Investigators say Poulson also successfully solicited more than 50 private investors into his companies, including Equity Capital Investments, which purportedly bought and sold real estate. Poulson allegedly told the investors that their money would be used to acquire and rehabilitate properties, which Poulson claimed he would rent out and then sell for a 10 to 20 percent return on the investment.
Investigators say Poulson provided the investors with fake mortgages and promissory notes for residential properties he claimed to be purchasing, renting and reselling. Poulson allegedly did this in order to give the impression that Equity Capital Investments was a legitimate business.
Officials say Poulson also gave three weekend-long seminars, several speeches at monthly dinners and various, private tutorial sessions that claimed to teach real estate investing tips to individuals for a fee. Poulson was also the former president of the South Jersey Real Estate Investment Club.
Investigators say the same properties Poulson used to solicit private investments were the properties he acquired from the distressed homeowners. Poulson allegedly spent the investments on personal expenses and to partially repay previous investors. According to officials, Poulson spent some of the investors’ money on Ray’s Pizza, Acme, Exxon/Mobil, Jos. A. Bank, DirecTV, Hollywood Grooming, Kiddie Garden, Philadelphia Union tickets, American Express, Studio 122 (a hair salon), The Disney Store, Toys ‘R Us, Wawa, and rent-to-own payments on a personal beach house in Ventnor, N.J.
According to investigators, Poulson’s schemes resulted in investor losses of more than $3 million.
During a hearing on Wednesday, a judge required a $100,000 unsecured bond from Poulson. The judge also restricted his travel to New Jersey and Delaware.
For the third time in four days a person was shot in Philadelphia after answering a knock at the door.
For the second time, the victim died.
“The victim was clearly inside his house when he was shot,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Small said officers rushed to the 2300 block of N Cleveland Street in North Philly around 1:15 a.m. Thursday.
When officers arrived they found a 36-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his head and leg in the living room of his home -- a short distance from the front door.
“Police picked him up and rushed him to Temple Hospital where he was pronounced dead,” said Small.
Small said witnesses in the home told investigators that someone knocked on the door shortly after 1 a.m. When the victim answered his door he tried to keep the alleged shooter out.
“The victim began struggling with the shooter to close the door,” said Small. “When the victim finally got the door shut the shooter fired four shots through the front door of the property.”
After the shooting the suspect ran off north on Cleveland Street, according to investigators.
Small said investigators obtained some private surveillance video from the area. It wasn’t clear why the suspect opened fire.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia Police.
The shooting happened a short time after a man was shot through his front door in the Cobbs Creek neighborhood and just a few days after a man died after being shot through the peephole of his door in East Germantown.
There doesn't appear at this point for any of the incidents to be connected.
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McDonald's workers at Broad and Girard Streets walked out of work Thursday morning to show solidarity for a worldwide fast food strike.
The workers are striking to demand $15 per hour and want to form a union. The fast food strike is a first-ever for Philadelphia, according to Fight for Philly organizers. There are strikes running concurrently in 150 U.S. cities and 3 dozen countries.
Workers from Burger King, Subway, Popeye's, Dunkin' Donuts and KFC are among those who joined in the global effort. In addition to the request for higher livable wages, the workers want to form a union without retaliation.
The campaign began in 2012 in New York City when 200 fast food workers walked off their jobs demanding the wage increase and desire to unionize.
After teasing the salivating public through social media, Philadelphia-based nonprofit The Food Trust released its full lineup of the more than 80 restaurants and food trucks descending on Old City Thursday for its latest street food festival – Night Market.
Eighteen Old City-based businesses-- including Wedge and Fig, National Mechanics, High Street on Market and Smak Parlor -- will be on hand Thursday from 6pm to 10 pm Thursday along 3rd Street between Market and Race streets for the organization's latest block party and food fest.
Officials are closing North 3rd Street between Market and Race streets and Arch Street between Front and 4th streets to traffic from 3 pm to midnight and all parked vehicles must be off those roads from noon to midnight, according to the Old City District's website. SEPTA's 48 and 57 bus lines will be rerouted around the event.
The Food Trust had already revealed a handful of participants, like Wisconsin-influenced truck The Cow and The Curd, Midtown Village-based Cheu Noodle Bar and the vegan popsicle vendor Mompops, on its Twitter account.
Hee Chang, chef and partner at Prime Stache, confirmed the mobile version of the Brent Celek-owned restaurant will be participating for the fifth time Thursday and the menu will feature a reinvention of a city staple.
“We are going to do a spin on the Philly cheesesteak,” Chang said. “It is a healthier version with a cabbage slaw inside to give it some texture and then I’m going to wrap it.”
A popular pork sandwich named after a character made famous by Will Ferrell will also be available at Prime Stache Mobile, he said.
“Ron Burgundy is pulled pork that is cooked slow and low for hours. Then we pull it with some homemade cider barbeque sauce,” Chang described. “Then I do a roast pork au jus, slice it and then I have a pork belly that I brine in maple syrup. I lay the pulled pork with some white cheddar cheese, then the roast pork with au jus then the pork belly.”
Chang, who has served up sandwiches at four previous Night Markets, said it can be tough for some brick and mortar restaurants to switch their kitchen setup to a street vendor version.
“The biggest challenge is storage,” Chang said. “It is hard to maintain that level of good homemade food.”
But the event is worth the trouble to downsize becuase it is a great opportunity for chefs to go over the top with their recipes, he added.
“With a truck, it is about the height of the food. The taller the better it seems,” Chang said. “When people are outside, they like to indulge. Inside you have to have some sort of decorum, so you can’t really stuff your face in the same way.”
While Night Market's vendors dish out their custom creations Thursday evening, customers can take in music from Johnny Showcase and the Left Lucy Cabaret.
To see the full lineup, visit The Food Trust's website for the program.
The next street food festival is scheduled for June 19 in West Oak Lane section of the city.
Contact Alison Burdo at 610.668.5635, alison.burdo@nbcuni.com or follow @NewsBurd on Twitter.
A bout of heavy rain is expected to drench the region throughout the day on Friday bringing the potential for flash flooding in some neighborhoods.
A First Alert has been declared for Friday by the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team -- aimed at making sure viewers are prepared for the severe weather.
NBC10 First Alert Chief Meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz said the large line of storms is moving from south to north and with that track comes the concern of "training." With training, storm would stop moving east to west, but continue moving south to north continually hitting the same areas with heavy rain.
"So if it all moves up [only from north to south]...one area gets pounded, while other areas don't get much at all," Hurricane said.
NBC10 First Alert Weather computer rainfall models are predicting between a half inch of rain in Philadelphia to more than 1.5 inches of rain in Allentown over the course of the storm. Areas to the north are expected to get the most rainfall.
Hurricane says the rain should start arriving in the area by 7 a.m. and could stay until midnight on Saturday should the front move slowly. Thunderstorms could also be embedded in the storm front.
The potential for such heavy rain over that period of time has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Flash Flood Watch lasting through Friday night for much of the region.
Stay with NBC10 First Alert Weather and NBC10.com for the latest on this severe storm.
Police are searching for two men involved in a shooting of a pedestrian along a North Philadelphia street.
The shooting took place on April 27 at 1:25 in the afternoon along the 2900 block of North Marshall Street, police said.
Surveillance video shows the 46-year-old victim walking down Marshall Street when two men slowly up the street behind him on bicycles. One of the men then pull out a handgun and fire on the male pedestrian -- who police say was hit once in the chest.
The man drops to the ground before getting up and running away. Police say a short time later he collapsed at the intersection of Marshall Street and Indiana Avenue.
Paramedics took the man to Temple University Hospital, where he currently remains, in extremely critical condition, authorities say.
The suspects are described as male, possibly teens, riding BMX style bikes. One suspect was wearing a dark blue hoodie and the other a light colored shirt with stripes.
Anyone with information is asked to call Philadelphia Police at 215.686.TIPS.
