Man's body found in burning SUV in Oxford Circle: sources
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sources say a man's body was found inside a burning SUV in the Oxford Circle section of Northeast Philadelphia Tuesday morning.
The man was shot and killed in the SUV before someone lit it on fire, police sources say.
Detectives are searching for two people in connection with this arson and homicide. They were seen getting out of the vehicle just before it burst into flames.
"I can see the car burnt and broken," Rommeo Prenz said, "and I thought it was my car."
Prenz of Oxford Circle was inside his home when he noticed a car fire outside and police blocking off his neighborhood early Tuesday morning, so he stepped outside.
"I'm walking to my car," he said, "and they're like, 'Hey, hey get back, this is a crime scene.' This is probably the first time I've seen yellow police tape. For the most part, this is a pretty safe neighborhood. There are a lot of families. All these houses are mostly just families. A lot of families live here."
Police were on the scene Tuesday morning looking for surveillance video that could yield some clues, and brought an arson K-9 to assist.
It all began around 1 a.m. Tuesday morning on the 5900 block of Sylvester Street.
Police were initially called for a report of a car on fire, but when officers arrived, they found a body burning in the backseat of the SUV.
Police say the body was so badly torched, it was initially beyond recognition.
"When the fire department arrived, the vehicle was completely engulfed," Philadelphia Police Department Chief Inspector Scott Small said. "You can clearly see there's extensive burn to the inside of the vehicle and the outside of the vehicle. But the inside is completely burned out and where we found this victim, laying on the floorboards in the back."
Homicides are on the rise in Oxford Circle.
There have been five homicides in the area so far this year, according to police data and sources. It's much higher than recent years, and it's alarmed neighbors.
"It's horrible, it's horrible," Sam Cimino, a neighbor, said.
Anyone with information that could help the investigation is urged to give the police a call.
