Court proceedings are scheduled against two people accused in the murder of a local gay man.
At a preliminary hearing Tuesday, Judge Karen Simmons upheld all charges against Crystal Leibhart. She will be formally arraigned at 11 a.m. July 28. The preliminary hearing for Thomas Brennan was continued, per a request from the defense; prosecutors last month requested a continuance.
Both are charged in connection with the May murder of Scott Bernheisel. Brennan faces murder, robbery, theft, conspiracy, abuse of corpse and related charges. Leibhart is charged with robbery, theft, conspiracy, obstruction and related charges.
Leibhart’s attorneys again requested a reduction in her $500,000 bail on Tuesday, which Simmons denied. Brennan is being held without bail.
Bernheisel had been stabbed and bludgeoned and his body was found May 28 in a suitcase near Philadelphia International Airport. Investigators say he was the victim of a drug-related robbery that turned violent in the 200 block of Wilder Street in Pennsport, where he was temporarily living. They said he was not targeted for being gay.
Bernheisel, 40, was a native of Atlantic City who moved to Philadelphia in 2011.