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Two charged in connection with Frankford homicide

Robert Derer, 70, had been reported missing last Thursday.

Andrew J. Ciaccia, 25, and Venessa M. Pena, 21, were charged in connection with the death of Robert Derer, 70.
Andrew J. Ciaccia, 25, and Venessa M. Pena, 21, were charged in connection with the death of Robert Derer, 70.Read morePhiladelphia Police Department

A man and woman have been charged in connection with the death of a 70-year-old man whose severely beaten body was found in a storage container inside a Frankford apartment last week, police said Monday.

Andrew J. Ciaccia, 25, and Vanessa M. Pena, 21, were arrested late Friday and charged with tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, abuse of a corpse, and criminal conspiracy related to the death of Robert Derer, who was found dead Thursday night in a rowhouse in the 1600 block of Fillmore Street.

Police said no one has been charged with homicide, but the investigation was continuing.

At a news conference Friday, Homicide Lt. Norman Davenport said his detectives were questioning three men who lived in the second-floor apartment. Police on Monday said Ciaccia and Pena also lived in the 1600 block of Fillmore.

Family members reported Derer missing early Thursday afternoon after not hearing from him for several days.