Philly police announce murder charges for two suspects in ‘execution-style’ killings in Fairmount Park
Lamar Young, 52, and Dale Johnson, 56, face murder and conspiracy charges in connection with the killings of Thurston Cooper and Krystina Chambers, police said.
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Police announced murder charges Thursday against a couple who they say carried out the execution-style killings of two people who were found dead in East Fairmount Park last month.
Lamar Young, 52, and Dale Johnson, 56, face charges of murder, criminal conspiracy and related crimes in the killings of Thurston Cooper and Krystina Chambers, Police Chief Inspector Chris Werner said at a news conference.
Young was arrested March 5 on unrelated gun charges and Johnson turned herself into police Wednesday, authorities said. Johnson had been questioned about the killings last week, but was released because there was insufficient evidence to charge her at that time, Werner said. Police later obtained surveillance footage that put the couple in a bar with Cooper and Chambers earlier on the night of their deaths.
Police say they do not know which of the two suspects pulled the trigger in the shootings. The motive for the killings was unclear, Werner said, but was believed to have stemmed from an argument that night in an Olney bar.
Shortly before 11 p.m. Feb. 29, police responded to a report of a body on the 3800 block of Mount Pleasant Drive, half a block from the historic Mount Pleasant Mansion, which has been closed to the public since 2023.
When police arrived, they found Chambers, 38, with gunshot wounds to the head and chest, lying next to Cooper, 49, who also had a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers found three spent shell casings next to the bodies.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators showed the two with Young and Johnson at Tellups Tavern earlier that night, said Werner. While inside the bar, the four had an argument, Werner said, and Young got upset because Cooper had spoken to Johnson, Young’s girlfriend.
According to video footage from the night of the killing, the four — who knew each other and regularly frequented the bar — appeared to have settled the dispute and bought each other drinks, said Werner.
At around 9:40 p.m. Feb. 29, the group was seen leaving the bar together in Johnson’s Kia Sportage, said Werner. Young and Johnson offered Cooper and Chambers a ride and they willingly accepted, , he said.
About 20 minutes later, Werner said, the Kia Sportage was seen in surveillance footage in the area of Mount Pleasant Drive, where the slayings occurred.