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Neighbors say the mentally challenged victim was a nice, quiet woman. Her boyfriend is charged in her slaying.
By most accounts, everybody knew Patricia Lynch. And a lot of people in the mentally challenged woman’s neighborhood looked out for Patty, as they called her.
Even Lynch’s ex-husband would regularly walk by her first-floor apartment at 2802 Winton St. and check in on the 47-year-old through her front window, detectives said.
On Monday around 10 a.m., Lynch’s ex-husband would do that for a final time.
He saw her lifeless body inside the dwelling and called police, said Capt. Charles Bloom of the Homicide Division.
Later that day, investigators arrested the victim’s boyfriend, David Cullen, 49, from the 2600 block of Gerritt Street, and charged him with murder and possession of an instrument of crime, said the captain.
Conflicting reports stated that Lynch had been strangled, shot or beaten to death. On Tuesday, the captain told the Review she had been stabbed several times in the neck. Homicide detectives did not recover the weapon at the scene, Bloom added.
Police are not ruling out the possibility that Lynch was sexually assaulted, since officers found the victim with her pants pulled down, Bloom said at the scene. She was likely killed Saturday night or sometime Sunday, he added.
Lynch had been recovering from a recent mastectomy, said her landlord, Bob Corba, who was at the scene Monday after the victim was discovered.
Neighbors described Lynch, who had lived on Winton for a couple of years, as a pleasant woman who kept to herself. "She was a nice lady and didn’t bother anybody. It’s so sad," said a teenage girl who lives in the neighborhood.
Lynch’s 35-year-old next-door neighbor said the victim would often knock on her door, seeking company or a cup of coffee or tea. "She was my friend, and it hurts. She was real, real nice for somebody to do this to her."
On Thanksgiving, the neighbor made Lynch a plate of food. The victim has family, but "they didn’t bother with her," the neighbor added.
Cullen would often spend time at Lynch’s apartment, Bloom said. He was last seen leaving around 2 p.m. Sunday, said neighbors and detectives — around the same time the victim was last seen, a neighbor noted. Lynch always had a radio or television on, and at least two neighbors at the scene thought it was strange that they heard neither coming from the victim’s apartment Sunday night.
Arrest in boy’s abduction
After a 9-year-old Grays Ferry boy disappeared from his home for almost a day last week, he was returned safely and a family acquaintance was arrested, police said.
Police charged Brant Smith, 31, of the 3000 block of Wharton Street, with child endangerment and unlawful restraint, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detective Division.
Quadeer Finch’s 31-year-old mother, Tomika, told police a man she’s known for more than 10 years had taken her son to sell candy Friday around 10:30 a.m.
Smith would often take neighborhood children around to sell candy so they could earn pocket change, police said. But when Quadeer had not returned home to the 1300 block of Newkirk Street by midnight, his mother grew worried and reported him missing.
South Detectives initiated a citywide search Saturday and drove Tomika around to areas where she knew the two had previously sold candy.
A cousin of Tomika’s, who works for the postal service, made up fliers with the child’s information and distributed them, Biello said. A coworker who got a flier spotted Quadeer selling candy in front of a supermarket in Upper Darby, the sergeant said. The man phoned Tomika’s cousin to tell her the child had been found, and he drove Quadeer back home to South Philly, Biello said.
University of Pennsylvania police nabbed Smith at 40th and Market streets — an area authorities said he frequents — around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
Knifepoint holdup thwarted
An elderly man narrowly escaped harm last week when an unknown woman held a knife to his throat during a robbery attempt, authorities said.
The woman had approached the senior around 8:30 a.m. July 15 as he sat on the steps of his home on the 1600 block of Clarion Street, said Inspector Bill Colarulo, commanding officer of the Police Public Affairs Unit.
According to Detective Dave Budka of South Detectives, the offender asked the 87-year-old victim for a sexual favor. When he refused, she didn’t take too kindly to the rejection and whipped out a knife and tried to rob him, the detective said. A neighbor may have saved the day because as she came out of her house, the would-be thief fled, Budka said.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Guns, drugs and arrests
Officers from Narcotics Field Unit South who went to a home to serve a search warrant made two arrests and recovered a cache of guns, officials said.
Brothers Jason and Michael Pollino, both 24, of the 400 block of St. Michael’s Drive, were nabbed July 16, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
Narcotics Field Unit South officers entered the home around 3:30 p.m. and charged the two with various drug offenses and conspiracy, Biello said.
Police confiscated a 9 mm pistol, .25-caliber Beretta pistol, .30-caliber Winchester rifle, .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle and .410 gauge shotgun, the sergeant said.
Robbed in Queen Village
A 23-year-old Abington man was beaten and robbed Saturday just before he entered the home of a friend he was visiting on the 300 block of Carpenter Street, police said.
Three males exited a blue Oldsmobile around 2:30 a.m. and began assaulting the victim outside the dwelling, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
The attackers swiped the victim’s gold chain, wristwatch and $650 cash before getting back inside the car and fleeing north on Third from Carpenter, the sergeant said. The victim told police he knew one of the assailants. An arrest is pending, Biello said.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
Thieves stab victim
A West Philly man was in stable condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after a robber stabbed him in the left thigh during a holdup, police said. The incident happened July 14 shortly after 4:30 p.m. on the 500 block of Morris Street, said Sgt. Steve Biello of South Detectives.
The 34-year-old victim told police three offenders cornered him and demanded his money and bag, the sergeant said.
When he told the culprits he had no money, things turned violent. One of the offenders brandished a pistol, while another swiped the victim’s cell phone and stabbed him, Biello said.
Also taken was the bag, containing seven pairs of sneakers.
To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013.
