What to Know
- Two men and two women were found shot in the head in the basement of a home along Malcolm Street in Southwest Philadelphia Monday.
- The four were killed execution-style after being "led down to the basement," Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.
- No word yet on possible motive or suspect(s).
Four people were found shot to death execution-style in the basement of a Southwest Philadelphia home Monday.
Each person, found just after noon in a home along the 5100 block of Malcolm Street, just off Baltimore Avenue, was shot in the head, Philadelphia police said.
The victims were Maurice Taylor, 31, his half-brother Akeem Mattox, 28, Tiyaniah Hopkins, 20, and a Jane Doe, police said.
Preliminary information made it appear the victims were "led down to the basement" then each shot in the head, Police Commissioner Richard Ross told reporters Monday.
It was "the worst crime scene" Police Inspector Derrick Wood ever saw, the 20-year veteran of the force said.
Sources told NBC10 there was no forced entry into the home, no signs of a struggle, no weapons recovered and no witnesses.
"That's what's so absolutely evil about it that you would take people downstairs and absolutely execute them," a "heart-broken" Ross said Tuesday.
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Taylor and Mattox were living in the home while it was being renovated, according to police. Family members described the two men as loving fathers.
"The family is devastated," Greg Brinkley, the uncle of one of the victims, said. "He wasn't that type of guy."
A neighbor heard loud bangs late Sunday night and thought it to be construction work at the property, Ross said. Investigators believe those sounds could have been the fatal gunshots.
Police came out for a wellness check at the home Monday after a relative found the door slightly ajar, investigators said.
There's no word yet on a motive for the shooting or possible suspect(s).
"We're hoping that we will get some tips to get us some direction because we absolutely have to bring this person or persons to justice," Ross said. "We can't have individuals like this walking the streets."
Tuesday night, loved ones released balloons in honor of Mattox. His mother, stepfather and siblings stood before the crowd, overwhelmed by their support.
"My nieces have lost their father," Mattox's sister said. "When is this going to stop?"
The victims' young daughters attended Tuesday's tribute.
"They're crying for all day long," the girls' grandmother, Harriet Rice, told NBC10. "They want their dad. They want to see their dad. They ask can they see him again."
If you have any information on the murders, please call Philadelphia police.
