Police continue to investigate the murder of a local transgender woman as the one-year anniversary of her death approaches.
In an interview last week, Philadelphia Homicide Capt. James Clark told PGN that investigators are continuing to look at a “person of interest” in the murder of Stacey Blahnik, but are not yet close enough to make an arrest.
Blahnik was strangled to death Oct. 11 in her South Philadelphia home. She was the house mother for House of Blahnik.
Clark said there is DNA evidence linking the person of interest to the crime scene, but that it doesn’t provide sufficient cause for an arrest yet.
Investigators are continuing to examine other angles, Clark said.
“We of course would like to make an arrest very quickly in every murder, but that’s just not always the case,” he said.
In a homicide investigation, a primary investigator is assigned to the case who works with the entire squad on the investigation in the first two days, after which time he or she takes over the case, along with a partner.
The investigators have continued to interview and re-interview neighbors near the 1800 block of Manton Street where Blahnik lived, along with other acquaintances, in the past year and have looked into all calls about the murder, Clark said.
“We have followed up on every single tip and have now identified this person of interest and are working to build our case around that individual,” he said.
Clark noted that there is no standard timeline to which a murder investigation can be held, as each case is contingent upon myriad factors.
“There’s nothing with murder that’s usual or unusual,” he sad. “Sometimes we bring [the suspect] in in the first couple minutes and sometimes it takes four or five years. There are a lot of different things that come into a murder investigation.”
Malik Moorer, Blahnik’s partner of seven years, said investigators have kept in touch with him over the past year.
While an arrest in the case would provide a modicum of closure for him, Moorer said, it would also be reassuring to clear his name, as he said that, although he was ruled out as a suspect, he has been plagued by rumors in the past year.
“I want them to find the killer so he’s punished and also because I don’t want my name in any way associated with doing any kind of harm to her,” he said. “Even if they arrest the person, I’m still going to have a lot of questions about why this happened, but it would help a little bit.”
Moorer said adjusting to day-to-day life without his partner has been difficult.
“Some people say it gets better with time but this has been the hardest year of my life,” he said. “Everything that has come up, it’s been the first for this or the first for that. When it was her birthday or my birthday or Thanksgiving, I’ve always got to deal with it being the first.”
Clark urged Blahnik’s loved ones to remain patient, saying he believed the case could be successfully solved.
“To the friends and family of the victim, we never stop working no matter what. We believe very strongly that we will bring this job in and an arrest will be made in the future.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].