There was a gruesome discovery in the Gayborhood this week.
A landlord on Monday found the badly decomposing body of a man in a second-floor apartment at 233 S. 13th St. The victim had been shot multiple times and appeared to have suffered blunt-force trauma to the head.
The 30-year-old black male, who lived on Pine Street, has not yet been identified.
It was originally reported that police were searching for a woman who rents the apartment, but police spokesperson Lt. Ray Evers said she is not the prime suspect. However, police are close to an arrest.
“Right now it’s not a who-done-it so much as we’re just putting the final pieces together to finish this up and make an arrest,” Evers said. “We have very, very good direction on this, and I expect an arrest any day.”
Evers said the victim knew his attacker.
“This was not someone who was a stranger to him,” he said. “For people who live in the neighborhood, there’s not someone who is going around killing people. The decedent definitely knew who killed him.”
Evers did not provide details about the motive for the murder.
He said there was no indication whether or not the victim was gay.
Shell casings were found at the scene, as was a bloodied fire extinguisher that police believe was used to strike the victim in the head.
An autopsy completed this week determined the man died from the gunshot wounds.
Neighbors had complained of a foul odor coming from the residence for a number of days, prompting the visit from the landlord. Police believe the murder took place up to a week prior to Monday’s discovery.
The building housed PGN’s first office, from 1977 through the early ’80s.
The location, as well as most other residences on the block, is now home to low-income apartments.
Police Capt. Brian Korn of the 6th District said that street is known to police for its drug activity.
“We’ve had some issues with that block,” he said. “There have been some open-corner sales and we’ve had the indication that some people in those apartments might be involved with drugs. We’ve made quite a few arrests over the course of the years for open-corner sales.”
Evers was not aware if drugs were found at the scene of the crime, or if the incident was related to drug activity.
Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee chair Franny Price said the difference between that block and the surrounding area is striking.
“There are a lot of undesirables that live and hang out on that street and in front of those houses, and then right across the street you have high-society people taking their kids to an upscale childcare center,” she said. “That whole little row has always been a sore spot. It’s a nuisance at night as well as during the day; it doesn’t matter the time.”
While that row of houses is notorious, Korn said the murder is out of the ordinary for the district.
“Violence in this area is really not an issue,” Korn said. “As far as bodily crime, the area’s pretty safe. Our biggest issue is property crime.”
That block is also the site of the slated LGBT-friendly senior residence, planned for 249-257 S. 13th St.