Two of the six men set to go on trial in the double murder at the trendy Piazza at Schmidts condos in Northern Liberties, pleaded guilty on what was supposed to be the first day of jury selection.
Rian Thal, a popular party planner, and her friend, Timothy Gilmore, were shot to death in a botched drug-related robbery attempt in June of 2009. The last seconds of the victims' lives were caught on surveillance tape when they got off the elevator of at the Navona, right before they were ambushed.
Inside Thal's apartment, police found four kilos of cocaine and $100,000.
On Monday gunman Donnell Murchison, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced immediately to two consecutive life terms with no chance of parole.
Langdon Scott, 28, cut a deal to testify against the remaining four defendants, pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy, burglary and robbery, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. He faces up to 60 years in prison and will be sentenced in January, according to the Inky.
The four men still facing trial include alleged mastermind, Will Hook, Antonio Wright, Robert Keith and Edward N. Daniels. A seventh defendant, Rian Thal's neighbor and the only woman involved, Katoya Jones, pleaded guilty last year to letting the gunmen inside of condo complex. Jones is also expected to testify against the remaining suspects at the trial.
