A woman in her 60s was found stabbed to death inside her South Philadelphia home and a 16-year-old is being considered a person of interest in the killing, Philadelphia police said.
Officers arrived to the home along South 20th Street, near Wolf Street, just before 12:30 a.m. Friday to find the woman bleeding from a large laceration to her neck on the floor of a second-floor hallway, right by the front bedroom, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
The woman was stabbed multiple times and unresponsive, Small said. Medics pronounced her dead on the scene a short time later.
About a foot from the woman's body was a bloodied 10 to 12-inch kitchen knife, Small said.
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
Several family members were in the home at the time, investigators said.
Police took in a 16-year-old relative, who lives in the home, as a "person of interest," Small said.
"He had blood on his hands," Small said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Police took the 16-year-old to a hospital because he also had cuts on his hands, Small said.
"We don't know what motivated this stabbing that escalated and turned into a homicide," Small said.
Investigators spoke with other people in the home about what led up to the stabbing.
No charges were filed as of Friday morning.
Entering Friday, at least 338 people had been killed in Philadelphia, according to police data. That's about 3% ahead of the homicide count on the same day last year, which wound being the deadliest on record in Philadelphia.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
