Two prosecution witnesses failed to appear this week for the hearing of the alleged killer of a local transgender woman, pushing the proceeding back several weeks.
Raheam Felton was scheduled for his first preliminary hearing Wednesday morning in connection with last month’s murder of 21-year-old Londyn Chanel.
Assistant District Attorney Guy D’Andrea said his unnamed civilian witnesses knew to be at court but, after they failed to appear, Judge James DeLeon granted a bench warrant for service for both.
Felton remained in police custody and did not make an appearance in front of the judge.
Defense attorney Charles P. Mirarchi 3d was prepared to proceed with the hearing.
The preliminary hearing was rescheduled for 9 a.m. June 23 in Room 306 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St.
Felton, 31, is charged with murder and possession of an instrument of crime. He is accused of stabbing Chanel inside an abandoned home in the 2200 block of Ingersoll Street in North Philadelphia. Chanel was stabbed twice in the back and once in the neck.
According to police, Felton and Chanel knew one another and lived in the abandoned house with two other transgender women, one of whom was Felton’s partner.
The stabbing took place in a third-floor bedroom after an argument that police said may have arisen from a domestic dispute.