A man accused of beating a woman to death with pipes inside an Old City office was charged with murder

A 48-year-old man has been charged with murder for beating a woman to death inside an Old City office building Wednesday, according to police.

Jeffrey Stepien was being held without bail and has also been charged with possessing an instrument of crime, according to court records.

He is accused of beating Samantha Maag, 31, of Gloucester Township, Camden County, who police said was seated at a reception desk on the eighth floor of an office building on the 300 block of Chestnut Street around 2:15 p.m. when Stepien attacked her from behind, striking her in the head several times with a pipe.

Maag was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:16 p.m. Attempts to reach her relatives Thursday were not successful.

Maag worked for Regus, a company that rents offices and coworking spaces, among other services. A company spokesperson did not say what she did or how long she had worked there, but called her “one of our much loved colleagues.”

Mark Dixon, CEO of Regus’ parent company, IWG, said in a statement that the firm’s “sincerest and heartfelt condolences go out to the family, friends and loved ones of our dear colleague, who tragically lost her life..”

Chief Inspector Frank Vanore said Stepien had been renting space in the building — which sits across from historic Carpenters Hall and next to the popular restaurant Buddakan — and might have been living there. While the motive remained under investigation, Vanore said, detectives were looking into the possibility that Stepien committed the assault after being asked to move from what was supposed to be an office space.

“We’re assuming that there was some kind of notification given to him,” he said, adding that police weren’t aware of any previous conflicts between Stepien and Maag.

The assault was captured on surveillance video, police said, and happened while other people were also on the eighth floor, some of whom called 911 and told operators they were hiding. Officers who responded to the scene saw a bloodied Stepien leaving an elevator on the ground floor, police said. They stopped him and searched a bag he was carrying, and found two blood-covered pipes inside. He was taken into custody and arraigned Thursday morning.

Several of Stepien’s relatives said in a brief phone interview that they didn’t want to speak with a reporter until they’d heard more from authorities.

Court records show Stepien was convicted in 2011 of simple assault and reckless endangerment in Lackawanna County and sentenced to one to two years behind bars. The details of that case were not immediately clear. Lawyers assigned to it did not respond to requests for comment.

Stepien is now being represented by the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which declined to comment on the murder charges.

The slaying added to a violent start to the year. Police statistics show 33 people have been killed in homicides in the first 19 days of 2022, the highest year-to-date total since at least 2007.