A man suspected of stabbing a 24-year-old Bucks County man to death at Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square earlier this month during an argument over a sports cap faced a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Steven Simminger, of Media, is accused of stabbing Colin McGovern, of Churchville, about 3 a.m. March 13, according to authorities. Investigators said McGovern was walking with friends near 18th Street and Rittenhouse Square when they passed Simminger. The dispute that led to the deadly stabbing is believed to have been started when McGovern poked fun at the New Jersey Devils cap Simminger, 40, was wearing, according to investigators.
The dispute got physical, and Simminger allegedly produced a knife and stabbed McGovern in the torso.
Good Samaritans and the victim's friends rushed to help him, taking off articles of clothing to try to stop the bleeding.
"I took my jacket off, I knelt down beside him, lifted his shirt up and just started putting pressure on what was a stab wound that we saw on his stomach," said Megan Hellander, one of those Samaritans. "And I was just trying to kind of whisper in his ear that the ambulance was coming."
McGovern died a short time later at Hahnemann Hospital.
Simminger, arrested several hours after the killing, was originally thought to be a homeless veteran who frequently stays in Rittenhouse Square, police said.
A source told NBC10 Simminger went to the VA Hospital on Woodland Avenue because he was injured during the fight. Police told NBC10 at the time that they were able to identify him through surveillance video. They also say they found two knives in his possession during the arrest, one of which they believe is the murder weapon.
Simminger faces charges of murder and possession of an instrument of crime. He's scheduled to appear in court again April 20.
