Philadelphia man charged in death of nurse and mother, Montgomery County DA says

A Strawberry Mansion man has been charged in the death of a Feasterville nurse and mother whose late-night shooting at a quiet intersection in Montgomery County had confounded investigators for months.

Ricky Vance, 52, was charged Friday with first- and third-degree murder, conspiracy, and related offenses in the death of Ebony Pack, who worked as a nurse caring for COVID-19 patients. He remained in custody, denied bail due to the nature of the charges. It was unclear Friday if he had retained an attorney.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said the investigation remains active. He said he doesn’t believe Vance acted alone, and a $10,000 reward his office is offering for information leading to arrests in the case remains in place.

» READ MORE: A nurse and mother was shot and killed at a Lansdale intersection. Months later, her family and police still seek answers.

Pack, 30, was on her way to visit her girlfriend on Nov. 28 when she was shot inside her Nissan sedan at a red light less than a mile from her destination.

She had left her home about an hour before, her mother, Rhonda Pack Terry, told The Inquirer, and had nearly taken her 10-year-old daughter, Ava, with her.

Pack Terry, in an interview Friday, said the arrest was a crucial “first step” in getting justice for her daughter.

“I’m glad they made this arrest, and I know there’s more work to be done,” she said. “But I am faithful that justice will prevail.”

Vance’s car was seen on surveillance footage pulling alongside Pack’s just before the fatal shooting, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. It remained unclear whether Vance was the driver or the gunman in the passenger seat.

Investigators say that in the days leading up to the shooting, Vance had been in communication with a friend of the man Pack’s girlfriend had been dating before the two women became romantically involved in July.

Pack’s girlfriend told investigators her ex-boyfriend was verbally and physically abusive and was angry that she had begun dating Pack, the affidavit said. She had a protection from abuse order against him after a violent encounter at a gas station in Philadelphia, and was fearful of him, the document said.

During that incident, the affidavit said, the man mentioned Pack, saying he was going “to fix her” and had “something for her.”

Three months later, police officers in Lansdale found Pack with multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of East Hancock Street and Church Road.

She was taken to Abington-Lansdale Hospital and died hours later. It was the first slaying in Lansdale in nearly three years, according to investigators.

Detectives were led to Vance through his car, which was caught on surveillance closely following Pack’s vehicle as she left her home and traveled on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the affidavit said. Though the car bore a fake license plate, investigators traced it to the dealership using an unusual license plate holder.

In an interview with detectives, Vance denied driving his car on the night of the slaying. A later review of his cell phone records showed he had visited the same house as the former boyfriend of Pack’s girlfriend a few hours before the slaying.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3368.