Family, friends and co-workers are mourning the violent death of a local prison guard who was found dead in a pool of blood in the living room of her southwest Philadelphia home Friday afternoon.
Lottie Denny, 51, was found dead by her brother in the living room of her home on the 2500 block of 63rd St.
The victim's brother was checking on his sister, a correctional officer in the Philadelphia Prison System, after concerned co-workers told him she failed to show up for work Friday morning. That's when he discovered her decomposing body face down in a pool of blood.
Denny was stabbed nearly a dozen times in the back and chest, sources close to the case said.
"I know she didn't deserve a violent end," said the victim's cousin, John Denny.
Police believe that Denny knew her killer and that although there was no sign of forced entry, there was a struggle near where her body was found.
They also say they have an idea of who they are looking for.
Loved ones gathered outside the home after hearing the news of Denny's passing, most too distraught to speak -- as police gathered evidence inside.
"It's very heartbreaking...She would help anyone,' the victim's nephew Henry Hill said.
Denny leaves behind a daughter and three grandchildren. She'd been employed in the Philadelphia Prison System for more than two decades.
A shooter opened fire outside a Philadelphia bar Friday night, killing a 22-year-old man.
The gunman shot the victim in the chest near the intersection of 8th Street and Hunting Park Avenue in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood just before 11 p.m., police said.
Police rushed the victim to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
Investigators are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance video from area businesses.
No word yet on a possible motive.
Authorities have yet to name a suspect in the deaths of the CEO of Cooper University Health System and his wife, who died in an intentionally set fire last month, but prosecutors confirmed the four sons of John and Joyce Sheridan are not suspects in their parents' deaths.
"At this point in our investigation, we are very confident that the four sons of John and Joyce Sheridan played no role in the death of their mother and father," said Geoffrey Soriano, Somerset County prosecutor.
John, 72, and Joyce, 69, were pronounced dead at their home on Meadow Run Drive in the Skillman section of Montgomery Township, New Jersey on Sept. 28.
Investigators announced Oct. 1 the blaze was arson and, on Thursday, recordings of the 911 call made by a neighbor revealed the caller heard "banging" from within the home.
The mysterious deaths remain under investigation. Authorities are awaiting autopsy results, which should be released sometime this month.
"As we have continuously maintained, when all laboratory analyses are received and reviewed by relevant participants in the investigations," Soriano said, "we believe we will be in a position to share the findings of our investigation."
The bodies of two dead horses -- killed when a tractor trailer slammed into them on a Delaware highway -- caused another vehicle to overturn early Saturday morning, injuring two people.
A 2004 Nissan pick-up truck swerved to avoid the horses, which were lying in the southbound lanes of U.S. Route 13 near Greenwood Road in Greenwood, Sussex County, around 4:30 a.m., entered the center median and overturned, authorities said.
Medics transported the driver, 56-year-old William Dennis, and his 56-year-old passenger to Naticoke Memorial Hospital, where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to officials.
The driver of the tractor trailer, 33-year-old Carroll Nicholson was not hurt when his big rig struck the two horses, which left a nearby farm and entered the right lane of the highway, police said.
Nicholson came to a controlled stop a short distance away from the accident.
The Delaware Department of Transportation closed the southbound lanes of Route 13 for two hours while they investigated the crash.
A Philadelphia coffee shop is serving the community with more than just a cup of joe. The Monkey and the Elephant Café, located in the city's Kensington neighborhood, hires former foster children as baristas, teaching them finance and computer literacy during an eight month program.
“I just had a light bulb moment sitting in a coffee shop, and thought I should open my own coffee shop and work with former foster kids,” said Lisa Miccolis, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit and coffee shop, which is open from 9am to 4pm at 1227 N. 4th St.
Along with collecting an hourly wage, employees -- like 22-year-old Tyrone Morrison and 19-year-old Naje Taylor -- receive help with college applications and lessons in how to run a business.
Morrison said he hopes to attend school to become a college counselor, while Taylor is interested in a career in the music industry.
“I love to make music," said Taylor, who added he was surprised at how much he loves making coffee for customers. "People here listen to music every day and I get to be around so many different sounds."
Miccolis, who visited orphanages during several trips abroad, was inspired to start the philanthropic endeavor after learning the children stopped receiving financial support once they turned 18.
“I realized I could do something about that," said Miccolis, who describes coffee shops as a great place for the former foster kids to network.
“There’s a large aspect of community that inherently exists in cafes," she said. "I realized [it] could be leveraged as a support system"
Didn't have a chance to catch the news? Here are yesterday's top stories.
Police Recover SUV, Question Women in Baseball Bat Attack Against School Bus
Philadelphia police questioned two women about a "bizarre" attack on a school bus full of Bucks County students after the pair claimed a sports utility vehicle authorities say was used in the incident.
Fire Closes Historic City Tavern in Old City
A fire outside a historic Philadelphia restaurant forced the eatery to close Friday after smoke was sent into the building.
3 Pennsylvanians Monitored in Texas for Ebola
Three Pennsylvanians remain in Texas after traveling on a flight from Cleveland to Dallas with a nurse, who tested positive for Ebola.
Teen Gets Life in Prison for Killing Friend Over PS3
A judge sentenced a Philadelphia teenager to life in prison for killing his childhood friend over the theft of a PlayStation3.
Mexico Turns Away Cruise Ship Carrying Health Care Worker Who Handled Ebola Samples
A Caribbean cruise ship is on its way back to Texas after it was refused permission to dock in Cozumel, Mexico.
Hundreds of people blocked Broad Street in Center City Philadelphia Saturday afternoon, all part of an impromptu rally by the Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters.
Union members began marching around City Hall around 11 a.m. to draw attention to the carpenters' ongoing negotiations with the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The rally eventually blocked motorists from driving on Broad Street.
They remain blocked from working in the Convention Center, which is located along Arch Street between 11th and Broad Streets.
Stay with NBC10 for more on this developing story.
Gasoline prices in New Jersey have fallen below an average of $3 per gallon for the first time since 2010.
AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the state on Friday was $2.96, down 11 cents from last week. That's also much lower than the price from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.21.
This marks the fifth straight week that gas prices have fallen in New Jersey.
The national average price on Friday was $3.14, down 10 cents from last week. That's also much lower than the national average from a year ago, when motorists were paying $3.36.
Analysts say the falling gas prices are due to decreased demand and lower crude oil prices.
A central New Jersey dog trainer who severely beat a canine that died while in his care has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Michael Rosenberg, of Princeton, had pleaded guilty in May to animal cruelty. The charges stemmed from the 2012 death of Shyanne, a 3-year old German-shepherd mix owned by one of Rosenberg's clients.
Authorities have said Rosenberg hit Shyanne with a crop whip, picked her up and slammed her on the ground and did not seek medical attention for the animal.
"When Shyanne died, a part of me died that day too," the dog's owner, Tracy Stanton, said during the sentencing. "There's an undeniable bond between companion animals and their owners, and to lose a dog, I think we can all agree, is to lose a family member. When I lost Shyanne, I lost one of my closest family members."
Two days after Stanton brought Shyanne to Rosenberg, he called her saying the dog had collapsed while running, The Times of Trenton reported.
Stanton said her boyfriend went to pick up Shyanne and found the dog unresponsive and hosed down with water. The dog soon stopped breathing while being brought to a veterinarian.
The sentence handed down Friday to Rosenberg will run concurrently with a four-year sentence he received in 2011 for child endangerment. The latter sentence had been suspended, but was reinstated after the 32-year-old Rosenberg violated probation by failing a drug test and attempting to cheat on another.
A New Jersey grocery store owner was arrested for allegedly selling heroin out of his business.
State Police raided the Stop and Save Market on Main Street in Pleasantville, New Jersey Friday afternoon. Authorities told NBC10 they began investigating the store about three weeks ago. Using drug-sniffing dogs, police found 400 bags of heroin and a large amount of cash, according to investigators.
“It was an open-air narcotic market going on from inside the store,” said Pleasantville Police Captain Rocky Melendez. “He wasn’t really concealing the fact that it was right over the counter.”
The store’s owner, 29-year-old Kamran Khalid, was arrested and charged with possession and distribution within a school zone and other related offenses, according to police.
“I was over there last week getting some items for dinner and I had no idea that that was going on,” said James Owens of Pleasantville.
Pleasantville is in the process of revitalizing and cleaning up its downtown area. Officials told NBC10 they conducted the heroin bust in the middle of the day in order to send a message.
“This is about show and tell,” said Pleasantville Mayor Jesse Tweedle, Sr. “We show better than we tell. Now they see that we’re for real.”
The Stop and Save Market was shut down and the city plans to revoke its business license.
A contractor who took deposits for work that was never done at two central New Jersey homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy has been sentenced to five years in state prison.
Monmouth County prosecutors say the sentenced handed down Friday to 59-year-old John Martocci, of Matawan, will run concurrent to a state prison term he is now serving.
Martocci had pleaded guilty in July to two counts of theft by deception.
Prosecutors say Martocci accepted an $1,800 deposit in November 2013 to repair the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system on a Sea Bright home, then received a $1,411 deposit in January to install a new air conditioning condenser at a Howell home.
In both cases, Martocci failed to do the work or return the deposit.
A Delaware man was killed after he was impaled by a tow hook that crashed through the windshield of a tractor trailer.
On Saturday around 8:45 a.m., George Lynam Jr., 66, of Middletown, Delaware was behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer fully loaded with corn that was stuck in a muddy field on the north side of Marl Pit Road in Middletown.
Robert Baker, 64, of Odessa, tried to tow the tractor-trailer out of the mud by using a farm tractor attached to a grain hopper.
As the tractor trailer was being pulled from the muddy field, the tow hook broke loose off the back of the grain hopper and was propelled through the driver’s side window, striking Lynam in the upper torso.
Lynam was taken to the Christiana Hospital Trauma Center where he was later pronounced dead.
Baker wasn’t hurt during the incident.
