Guilty Pleas in Deadly Old City Beating

Kevin Kless died after a 2012 beating at 4th and Chestnut

Two men who confessed to the beating death of a 23-year-old insurance executive on an Old City sidewalk have been sentenced.

Kenneth Enriquez-Santiago and Steven Ferguson, both 21, were charged with third-degree murder in the 2012 death of Kevin Kless.

Ferguson pled guilty to the charge and will serve a five to 10 year prison sentence. Enriquez-Santiago pled to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy. He will serve a two to five year sentence.

Kless had just left a bar with friends around 2:30 a.m. on January 14, 2012 when he tried to hail a cab at 4th and Chestnut Streets. Investigators said Kless was arguing with a cab driver when Enriquez-Santiago, Ferguson and another man, Felix Carrillo, pulled up in their car and began beating him.

Investigators said Ferguson delivered a severe, closed-fist blow to the right side of Kless' head.
Philadelphia Police say the men punched and kicked Kless until he lay severely injured on the ground. He died a short time later.

The three men jumped into their car and fled the scene, according to investigators. The suspects were caught a week after the beating after authorities received a tip.

The Kless family traveled from Warwick, N.Y. to Philadelphia Friday for the proceedings.

Kevin’s mother, Kendall, told the court no sentence equals the loss of her 23-year-old son.

Carrillo, 24, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter in January. He was sentenced to two to five years in prison.
 

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