My South Philly Review Crime Beat Column: Murdered For A Cell Phone

The South Philly Review posted my Crime Beat column online ahead of Wednesdays’ print edition.

 

You can read the column via the link below or the following text:

Murdered for a cell phone

 

Reports of the tragic murder of 22-year-old Billy Schmidt in South Philadelphia have been carried in the national press, including Fox News and the New York Post, and internationally, in such newspapers as the Irish Sun and the British Daily Mail. The nation and the world grieve for Billy Schmidt.

 

Here in South Philly, the seemingly senseless murder that stemmed from the robbery of his cell phone has left the local community stunned, sorrowful and angry. 

The murder of Billy Schmidt touched me as well for a number of reasons, one of which is that I live not too far from where he was murdered, which is unsettling when I think of my own family, and like Billy Schmidt, I, too, was a Penn State student when I was in my early 20s.

I thought of my fine life post-Penn State and then I thought of what the late young man would now not experience. He was robbed of his future as well as his cell phone.    

Billy Schmidt was murdered near his home in a relatively low-crime neighborhood early on Saturday morning on June 6 as he walked home. Police were called and the arriving officers discovered him lying on the street with a chest wound from a gunshot. He was rushed to a hospital and died at 1:47 am. The robbery and murder were caught on a doorbell video that was provided to the police. 

Bill Schmidt, the father of the late young man, told reporters that his son was his best friend. Billy Schmidt’s sister Anna called for justice for her late brother. 

“He was a really good person who cared about everybody and never hurt or bothered a soul,” the father said. 

I spoke to a couple of neighbors about the tragic crime, one of whom began to cry when I asked her about the murdered young man, although she had never met him.

“What is this world coming to?” she asked. “To be shot for a cell phone or a wallet or a car is madness. I saw the video and the killer looked like a child. I don’t understand how someone can take a life so casually.”

Her companion was enraged. “This is why senior citizen women like us are afraid to go out at night. Once it gets dark, I lock the door and stay inside. I hope the police catch these criminals and lock them away forever.”         

I reached out to Gary Capuano, a fellow South Philadelphian and a retired Philadelphia police sergeant, and asked for his take on the murder.

“First and foremost, I want to extend my condolences to the family of Billy Schmidt,” Capuano said. “Once again, we have an innocent victim gunned down on the streets of Philadelphia by violent criminals. If history is any indication, there is a good chance that when Billy Schmidt’s assailants are caught, we will find they have lengthy criminal records. 

“That raises an important question: Who holds judges accountable when repeat offenders are repeatedly given reduced sentences? I am not saying that is the case in this particular incident, but it certainly appears to have been a factor in some of the most heinous crimes we have seen in recent years.”

Philadelphia Police Capt. Kelly Robbins, the commanding officer of the 1st District, released a statement about Billy Schmidt’s murder on Facebook.

“On behalf of everyone in the 1st District, we extend our deepest condolences to William’s family, his friends and all who loved him. No family should ever have to endure a loss like this,” Robbins stated.

“We are fully committed to bringing those responsible to justice. Detectives have been aggressively working this case and will not stop until an arrest is made. We ask anyone with information to come forward and contact the Homicide Unit or the department tip line, 215-686-TIPS or tips@phillypolice.com.” 

Paul Davis’s Crime Beat column appears here each week. He can be reached via pauldavisoncrime.com.