Save our Streets: Police, grieving families plea for help with unsolved homicide cases

PHILADELPHIA - Families and friends are too often overlooked in stories when loved ones are met with violence. As cases unfold, many are not immediately solved, leaving loved ones to grieve in a much longer time span, with no closure for the deaths of their loved ones. These are some of those cases and all that police and the heartbroken families are seeking is for someone to step forward with information.

Unsolved Northeast Philadelphia homicide: Who shot and killed 15-year-old Neko Rivera?

Neko Rivera:

15-year-old Neko Rivera was in many ways a typical teenage boy, according to his mother, Esther Kim.

She says he loved gaming, bikes, and being active.

"He was so sweet, we laughed a lot," she says. "I know he would do anything for me, that’s the kind of kid he was, he would do anything for whoever he loved, and that’s how he died."

Kim says as a freshman in high school, Neko wanted his space, and she was learning how to navigate that. Living in Oxford Circle, he attended Samuel Fels High School, but she wanted a new start for the family and moved to North Philadelphia.

She says shortly after Neko started at Fels, he was jumped during a fight, and she pulled him out to go to Kensington High School, close to their new home.

Monday, March 13, 2023, started like an ordinary day.

Kim says she went to work and had to travel more than an hour outside the city, and Neko went to school like usual. However, he didn’t stay there.

Lieutenant Tom Walsh with the Philadelphia Police Department’s Homicide Unit says Neko left around 10:00 a.m., because of a fight his friends were involved in at Fels.

"From the little bit of video recovered from the high school, it appears as though some younger males entered the high school and there was a fight between those males and one or two people that were actually attending the high school," he says.

Police cannot say if Neko ever entered the school, but they know he eventually met up with those friends in the area of 6100 Algon Street.

It was in that area, just after noon, that officers got a 911 call about a person with a gun. They responded, police say, to find Neko on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds to his body.

"The way the investigation unfolded we believe that Neko’s friend was actually the intended target and Neko was at the wrong place at the wrong time," says Lieutenant Walsh. "Based on the facts that we have now, it appears to be an argument that started in a school that precipitated to the murder."

Kim says she got a phone call from a doctor at Einstein Medical Center around 1:00 p.m., telling her that her son was there and she needed to come in person.

She says she rushed back to the city.

"I was really trying to respect the system of things, but I didn’t even get to see him, like I got there, and he was already gone, he was already at the coroner’s," she says. "I didn’t get to see him, I wanted to at least just hold him one more time, but I didn’t get to see him."

Police later released surveillance video that they say shows a man, believed to be one of three shooters, cross Algon Avenue and walk down Oxford Avenue, then turn around and suddenly start shooting Neko, who was walking with his friend at the time.

"The ballistic scene indicated that there was at least three weapons, three handguns out there at that time, so while the video shows one shooter, the physical evidence shows there were at least three guns fired that day," says Lieutenant Walsh. "Just based on video it’s very tough, it’s not very clear. Even if you do have video, you’re going to still need the public’s help, you’re going to need somebody to step up and identify who that person is in that video. I could have hours and hours of video, crystal clear, and still not know who those people are."

Kim says the video is haunting.

"The gun culture, I was oblivious, yeah, call me dummy, but I was literally oblivious to it," she says. "Now that I’m thinking, he used to wear like three jackets, the poor thing and I would be like snapping on him, ‘Why are you wearing three jackets?’ And I think he thought that would protect him, you know what I mean, because that’s what makes sense to me."

About a month after Neko’s death, the Philadelphia School District reported that 100 students were shot during the 2022 to 2023 school year. Kim says Neko’s friend, walking with him when he was killed, was later injured in a shooting.

"He got shot, like they found him, and they tried to kill him too. He didn’t die, but he’s not speaking," she says. "All the kids know who it is, the school knows, it went in there the day he got killed, they went in the school."

In Kim’s apartment, where her daughter also lives, who’s now Neko’s age - 15-years-old - Neko’s bike sits in a bedroom, his picture on her island, a cross with his name sits by her plant display, and a donated painting of him sits by her bedside.

"I just kind of respect the system. Trying to call and be angry and yell, it doesn’t get, it doesn’t get anything done, so I just have to be patient, but then I feel like I’m not doing nothing," she says. "I feel like I have to be crazy, do I have to get like that for something to happen?"

Police say the evidence has only taken them so far and now they need the public’s help.

Kim adamantly wants justice, but is not sure how it will help her navigate a world without her son.

"At first I was kind of like let nature take its course, it’s just going to cycle back, but no, I have bad thoughts towards them, they hurt my child, I want them to feel my pain I guess," she says.

The City of Philadelphia offers a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person responsible for a homicide. This reward is offered in addition to other rewards that may be offered for specific cases. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact 215-686-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip online.

Unsolved 2013 New Castle Co. homicide: Who shot and killed 33-year-old Edwin Heath Sr.?

Edwin Heath Sr.:

Crystal Heath holds onto a beautiful wooden box with her son’s name. It has a picture of his favorite sport, basketball, and "Loving Son and Father."

It’s been 10 years this month, but she says she still can’t bring herself to move her 33-year-old son’s ashes inside, despite a mental count of every single day that’s passed.

"To count the days is insane. I got nothing else. I have nothing else," she says. "I'm still stuck. You know, even though I'm moving, I'm still stuck."

Crystal is now going for her doctorate, living in Magnolia, Delaware, a journey from when she had her son Edwin, who went by Eddie.

"We grew up together. I was a teenage mom. And I wanted better for him. And this is why we came to Delaware," she says.

Eddie kept his love for New York teams and music, but fully adapted to a new life in Delaware, starting a family of his own. At age 33, he was newly-engaged, had four children, and was living in Bear.

"He lived every day of his life for those kids. And it was always about the kids," says Crystal.

Less than 24 hours after talking to his mom about planning a vacation, New Castle County Police say on May 13, 2015, around 4 p.m. on a nice spring day, Eddie parked just outside his apartment building at 149 Antlers Lane, part of Fox Run townhomes.

His nine-year-old daughter and six-year-old son, who has special needs, stayed in the car.

"Multiple callers called said there was a shooting. Our officers responded to the scene to find a male subject on the curb between the parking area, and the front door of the residence, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds," says Detective Joshuah Smith of the New Castle Co. Police Cold Case Unit. "Those children actually had fled the car at the time he was shot, and had been hiding in the dead-end area, wooded area of the complex."

Crystal says she got a call from her daughter-in-law saying that Eddie got shot.

"I said, ‘You got to be kidding me.’ I say, ‘Not Eddie. You gotta be kidding me.’ I mean, I was in disbelief. And then she calls me back and says he's dead and that that is like the worst, the worst thing that anybody would want to hear and when I - when she said that, I mean all I could do is just scream," she says. "He didn't deserve to be gunned down at four o'clock on a Wednesday. All of these children out here coming home from school and these cowards do this. Cowards."

Police say they spoke with a number of witnesses and determined that the man in surveillance video, from the complex, was the shooter, lingering around a park, possibly on a phone, before killing Eddie.

After the shooting, police say they believe the shooter went towards Route 40 and got inside some kind of sedan.

"The description of the individual wasn't very detailed. The only thing that kept arising during our initial investigation was that this person actually had a thick beard, or potentially a fake beard, that he was using as a disguise," says Smith. "We went to different stores in the area, different costume stores, trying to identify different places you could buy fake beards. There were several. Unfortunately, those beards couldn't be traced back. They didn't have a way of tracking who purchased what."

Detective Smith says they have extensively tried to track down that nondescript sedan, looked at DNA and ballistic evidence, cell phone records, and have spoken to witnesses. He believes there are more witnesses out there that have not come forward to speak with them.

Crystal says her son was in a custody battle at the time.

"It was calculated. Because once he went in the house, they knew what time he would come back out. And if they didn't, this is just my perception, if they didn't get him then, when were they going to get him?" she says. "There's always a consequence. You can run, but you can't hide. You took a father away from his children. You robbed the children from their father."

Eddie is the king of hearts in the Crime Stoppers deck of cards handed out to area prisons and community centers.

Crystal says she stays in close contact with police. Eddie’s oldest daughter is now 19, attending college, and his youngest, who was only seven months at the time that he died, never got to know him.

"it's hard to swallow this pill. It's hard. Every day, you know, looking at my oldest granddaughter, she looks exactly like my son, and when I see her, I see him. All of his kids have his personality."

"These folks, they can run from state to state, from county to county. They're gonna get caught. They're going to get caught, they have to. They have to, I mean, it may not happen, you know, for me when I'm alive, maybe it’ll happen for the kids, for my grandkids," she says. "There’s no retaliation coming from me. I just want help. I'm just asking, help us out, so that my son can rest, and so I can take the ashes out of the original box and put them in here."

If you have any information on the murder of Edwin "Eddie" Heath Sr., you can submit a tip on the New Castle County Police website or by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333, visiting their website, or on Facebook.

Unsolved 1986 homicide of "Baby Jane Doe": Investigators hopeful for new leads in Washington Township cold case

Baby Jane Doe:

The tragic death of a newborn baby girl, more than 38 years ago in Washington Township, New Jersey, remains a mystery.

Chief Pat Gurcsik with the Washington Township Police Department says on the morning of December 4th, 1986, a pig farmer, searching for food and scraps for his farm in a dumpster, behind what was Paisano’s Pizza at the time, made a horrific discovery.

Paisano’s Pizza since closed in what is now called Priscilla Towne Center, a shopping center along Route 42.

"He came upon a baby, he thought was a baby, inside of a trash bag that he had ripped open, so he called police. Obviously, police came right out and discovered that’s what it was, a newborn infant," says Chief Gurcsik. "Back in 1986 there was no cameras here at all and detectives had to start from zero."

The FBI Philadelphia says Baby Jane Doe was wrapped in a distinct towel showing an African Plains scene and a cheetah image.

Investigators believe she was born that morning, full term, Caucasian, seven pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes. Her death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.

Chief Gurcsik says he was a police explorer with the department when the case came in. Her file sits on his desk, and he still talks with the since-retired detectives that diligently worked the case.

"They believe whoever left the baby back in that dumpster was from this area, possibly right here in Washington Township, and knew that there was a dumpster behind Paisano’s Pizza which was here for years," he says. "There was no one in the motels in town, three or four of them at the time, that any of the managers could remember a pregnant female staying there. Detectives also checked with the local schools in the South Jersey area seeing if there were any pregnant students possibly."

Chief Gurcsik shared a picture with FOX 29 of Baby Jane’s unmarked grave in Calvary Cemetery, in Cherry Hill, which was donated by the Diocese of Camden shortly after her death.

According to reports, he says she was named Christine, in honor of Christmas, by those that helped with her burial.

Today, the patch of grass, is now dirt, after a major development.

Earlier this year, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, with New Jersey State Police, the FBI, and Washington Township Police, exhumed the body of Baby Jane Doe at Calvary Cemetery. Investigators were able to pull viable samples and send them off for DNA testing.

"You have a young child that never got to live their life. "Obviously, law enforcement is busy day-to-day with the things that happen now, but we don't forget the things that happened before," says Thomas Gilbert, Chief of Detectives with the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office. "This takes public monies in order to do something like this. So, we don't enter into this without a lot of thought and say, ‘OK, you know, do we spend the resources, both human resources, as far as investigative, as well as, the cost of the technology assessment that we're talking about?’ You never really know, but you know that you should try."

Gilbert says they outsource for the testing with companies that look at cases across the country, and it can take some time.

"When we put that all together, hopefully we get a hit. We get some more clarity to what happened so many years ago and can then pursue some additional leads with the basis of that information, because right now we just don't have a lot to work with," he says. In this case, we can't guarantee that we will get results that are going to take us further, but if we didn't do these steps, we wouldn't be any further along."

He says he’s hopeful based on other successful outcomes they’ve seen, including an identity for the "Boy in the Box" in Philadelphia. That development came after exhuming his body for a second time and testing DNA, leading to their first major crack in the case in 66 years.

"When you see those victories get accomplished, leveraging this technology, it does encourage us," he says. "We all said, this one's worth a try."

If you have any information concerning this case, you are asked to contact your local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or you can submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. You can also contact the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at [email protected].

Unsolved Camden Co. homicide: Who shot and killed 28-year-old Andrew Ayala?

Andrew Ayala:

Leyda Muniz says her 28-year-old son, Andrew Ayala, known as "Drew," loved to be outside, riding on bikes and ATVs, and smiling.

She says he has a big heart, which was sometimes misunderstood.

"He didn't have any children, so he loved his nieces and nephews. He was always picking them up, taking them places. Very loving person, but, he had his ways," she says. "He had so many friends, that now I see that they were never his friends."

Leyda says her son was still trying to find his way, and at times, it impacted their relationship.

That was the case on January 3, 2022. She says she had family over her house - she has four other children. Drew wasn’t there, and they got a phone call.

"I guess they couldn't hold it, they're like, ‘Andrew got shot.’ So, I'm like, ‘What?’ Like, my knees got so weak," she says. "I fell to my knees because we wasn't on speaking terms."

The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office says it was just before 10:30 p.m. when Camden County Police got a call for a man that was shot in the area of North 20th Street and Wayne Avenue. Officers responded and found Drew with multiple gunshot wounds and rushed him to the hospital.

"When we showed up, the crime scene was fairly large from the shooting and the suspect running away from the area," says Sergeant Robert Fesi. "There were multiple people out there, but at the time, nobody was really willing to talk to us out there on scene."

Investigators say Drew was transferred from Cooper University Hospital to a medical facility in Atlantic City for treatment. However, after nearly five months in the hospital, Drew died from his injuries. The investigation shifted from a shooting to a homicide.

"It’s difficult having a delayed homicide because at that point we have lost some assets, right? Video only saves for so long. There's certain kinds of cellular data that might be gone at that point," says Lt. Andy McNeil, Director of Media Relations with the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. "The Camden County Police Department Shooting Response Team did a very good job. They collected a lot of video that was able to help us advance the ball, but it's always tough coming in after the fact."

For the first time since Drew’s murder, the prosecutor’s office released video to FOX 29 of the moments after he was shot. It shows the alleged shooter turning around and firing in the direction of 20th Street.

"The person is blurry, they're covered up, it's wintertime. it would be very hard to make an identification, and that's a frustrating aspect of this case," says Lieutenant McNeil.

Leyda says she wishes she was there.

"I wish I was there every moment, I would’ve caught that bullet for him. Parents are supposed to go before their children," she says.

The Prosecutor’s Office says Drew was hanging out in the area with at least one other individual that night.

"It’s not clear what led to this, and that's the really frustrating aspect of it, because we know that there are people with information. We know that there were people out there that night, to the point of we actually know who some of these people are. We know someone who was with Drew at that time. And time and time again, we've tried to have these people come in and speak with us and they refuse to do so," says Lieutenant McNeil.

Leyda says Drew constantly sends her "signs." She holds onto them.

While her grief is consistent, and just evolving, she says her pursuit of justice is unwavering.

"My son was overprotective and no one's an angel. No one. But everybody knew that my son will always be there for them. My son was loyal. He was loyal, and that's all I'm asking for. Give him loyal in return," she says. "Just say what you know. Just say what you know. I need this to be at rest, just like where my son is at, at rest."

If you have information on Andrew Ayala’s murder, you are urged to call the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit at (856) 225-8544 or the Camden County Police Department at (609) 519-3981. Tips can also be sent to CAMDEN.TIPS.

Investigations continue

In 2022, FOX 29 highlighted three unsolved cases in Philadelphia, that officials say are still actively under investigation. They are:

• What happened to Franchesca Alvarado?
• Unsolved Overbrook homicide: Who killed 15-year-old Angelo Walker?
• Unsolved Port Richmond homicide: Who shot and killed Chuckie Maude?

If you have an unsolved case you would like FOX 29 to highlight, contact [email protected].

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