Ellie Rushing

She was found dead under a pallet in Frankford last year, and was unidentified for months. Her family wants you to know her story. Anastasiya Stangret, 22, was found dead in an overgrown lot in Frankford in June 2024. For three months, she went unidentified, and the investigation into her killing stalled.

You should also read @ellierushing.bsky.social's devastating story on one of the still unsolved murders of recent years. www.inquirer.com/crime/a/anas...

She was found dead under a pallet in Frankford last year, and was unidentified for months. Her family wants you to know her story. Anastasiya Stangret, 22, was found dead in an overgrown lot in Frankford in June 2024. For three months, she went unidentified, and the investigation into her killing stalled.

A woman’s body was found in an abandoned lot in Philadelphia last June, and went unidentified for months. While a detective searched for her name, her family’s calls went unanswered — and crucial evidence was lost. This is the story of Anastasiya Stangret: www.inquirer.com/crime/a/anas...

Three Philly cops who defenders say ‘straight up lied’ cause 134 drugs cases to be dismissed, hundreds more expected Nearly a thousand cases could be thrown out after prosecutors said the officers repeatedly gave false statements in court and can't be trusted.

Nearly a thousand criminal prosecutions could collapse because of the testimony of three officers / story by @ellierushing.bsky.social

The parents of 16-year-old Xzavier Gregory, shot and killed last month in Northeast Philadelphia, want people to know not just how he died — but who he was.
www.inquirer.com/crime/xzavie...

DNA confirms police found the body of Kada Scott, sources say, and new details emerge on what led police to her corpse It’s not yet clear how Kada Scott died, but a law enforcement source said police believe she was likely killed within 30 minutes of leaving her workplace the night she disappeared.

The discovery of Scott’s body, two weeks after she disappeared, came after anonymous tips that grew more detailed with each day, sources said, coupled with location data from Scott’s Apple Watch, and finally, new surveillance footage recovered near the school.
www.inquirer.com/crime/kada-s...

Philly detectives are solving homicides at the highest rate in 40 years as violence plummets and tech improves Still, nearly 800 killings between 2021 and 2023 have yet to result in an arrest, according to an Inquirer analysis.

More Philly murders are solved. By rate. It’s an important measure and also a product of several interesting things happening. @ellierushing.bsky.social and I dug into the details.

www.inquirer.com/crime/philad...

Philly landlord sent a gunman to scare a late-paying tenant. Tenant had a gun, too. They killed each other. @ellierushing.bsky.social reports:

A Philly landlord’s scheme to terrorize his tenants into moving out left two people dead Stephen Wilkins pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2023 killing of Patricia Hall, a tenant he was trying to force out of his East Germantown property.

"He shut off their electricity, ripped out their electric meter and circuit breakers, threw a brick through a window, and even went as far as to remove all of the doors and windows... And then Wilkins sent a man to the house with a gun. And he killed her mother."

By @ellierushing.bsky.social

‘She was helping someone.’ Man charged with killing woman who intervened in argument outside a Center City 7-Eleven, police said. John Kelly, 45, has been charged with shooting and killing Lauren Jardine in Center City. Kelly, who is homeless, had been arrested for harassing people outside the 7-Eleven before.

www.inquirer.com/crime/12th-c...

She says a man paid her $2,000 to frame his friend for murder, and jail calls confirm it. It remained hidden — until now. Tyree Musier has been in prison for 17 years for a crime he says he didn't commit. Prosecutors now say his conviction should be overturned.

Tyree Musier has been in prison for 17 years for a crime he says he didn’t commit. Prosecutors now say his conviction should be overturned.

Halfway through 2025, Philly has the fewest homicides in recent memory The decrease comes despite several high-profile shootings this summer that left children and teens maimed by bullets. Still, it's progress.

@ellierushing.bsky.social and I took inventory of how Philly’s year is shaping up in terms of violent crime. It’s a mostly improving situation. It’s also still too high and uncertain.

www.inquirer.com/crime/a/homi...

Sorry I missed this. No one mentioned this as a reason for the decline. It had come up in reasons for homicide detectives solving more cases, though, which I’m working on a follow up story on now. Stay tuned.

Young father and paralyzed gun violence survivor among those killed in Grays Ferry shooting, family says Azir Harris was paralyzed in a shooting in 2018 and had spent years sharing his recovery journey with Inquirer columnist Helen Ubiñas. He was killed in South Philadelphia Monday morning.

A devastating account: "A young father who was paralyzed in a shooting in 2018, and who had become an advocate for survivors of gun violence, was among those killed early Monday after gunfire erupted," by @ellierushing.bsky.social and @notesfromhel.bsky.social : www.inquirer.com/crime/azir-h...

Juror in the trial of Mark Dial speaks of how panel decided to convict officer of voluntary manslaughter The foreman of the jury that convicted the former police officer in the death of Eddie Irizarry shared rare insight into how the panel reached a verdict.

This is a highly informative write up by @ellierushing.bsky.social of jurors' reactions to the evidence in the trial of PPD Officer Mark Dial for killing Eddie Irizarry.

Juror in the trial of Mark Dial speaks of how panel decided to convict officer of voluntary manslaughter The foreman of the jury that convicted the former police officer in the death of Eddie Irizarry shared rare insight into how the panel reached a verdict.

In the end, Mark Dial’s own testimony helped convict him of voluntary manslaughter for killing Eddie Irizarry in 2023, the foreman of the jury that delivered the verdict said in an interview Tuesday.

The Rev. Damone Jones builds relationships with Philadelphia’s most troubled children, the teens he says “typically nobody else loves”: those charged with murder.

Many of them have come to call Jones Dad. And Jones, too, accepts them as part of his family.

🔗 www.inquirer.com/crime/a/teen...

We answer your questions about the upcoming DA primary — how the elections works, who the candidates are, and much more. We answer your questions about the upcoming DA Primary – how the election works, who the candidates are, and much more.

The Philly District Attorney Primary is taking place next Tuesday. A race of big importance but often low turnout. So this year we took frequently asked questions on the DA race to Anna Orso and @ellierushing.bsky.social to provide answers.

Ask away...

www.inquirer.com/politics/ele...

Judge almost shuts down the city’s Kensington wellness court over mounting frustration with Parker administration, sources say Wellness court is on pause amid a months-long frustration between the courts and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker's team over how the program was launched. One judge called city leaders "fake."

The city’s Kensington Wellness Court has been placed on hold amid judges’ mounting frustration with the city officials tasked with overseeing the program. A supervising judge nearly shut it down, and the judge who presides over the cases called city leaders "fake." www.inquirer.com/crime/kensin...

Grocery shopping with Larry Krasner for @inquirer.com: www.inquirer.com/politics/ele... Words by @ellierushing.bsky.social & Anna Orso

Thanks for reading and sharing 🫶

Woah thanks Avi!

How a group of kids from West Philly chasing money and fame grew into a violent gang known as YBC They started as kids from West Philly just trying to make it out. Drill rap, and the pull of fame and money, left nearly a dozen dead, and others in prison for decades.

This is the kind of in-depth gun violence reporting that requires deep sourcing, trust building, newsroom resources, and straight up empathy. Which is why so few people do it like @ellierushing.bsky.social:

share.inquirer.com/49QJcN