A Philly man accused of killing his lover to silence him was ordered to stand trial for murder

Kylen Pratt, the North Philadelphia man who police say shot to death and burned the body of a man he was having a sexual relationship with, was ordered Monday to stand trial for murder and related crimes.

After hearing two homicide detectives testify about cellphone records and DNA evidence that they said linked Pratt, 20, to the February slaying of 20-year-old Naasire Johnson, Municipal Court Judge Wendy Pew held Pratt for trial on charges including murder, abuse of a corpse, possession of an instrument of crime and tampering with evidence. Pratt, who has denied the charges, is jailed without bail.

Prosecutors said he killed Johnson to keep him from disclosing their sexual relationship.

On the night of Feb. 17, authorities say Johnson went to Pratt’s home in the 2900 block of Oxford Street, where Pratt fatally shot him in the neck then moved his body to a cobblestone trail in Fairmount Park. Police found Johnson’s charred remains Feb. 20.

In March, a tip from an anonymous caller led police to Pratt, who at the time was jailed on unrelated charges. After DNA evidence tied him to the slaying, police said, he was arrested in connection with Johnson’s death last month.

Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said cellphone records showed that Pratt was with Johnson on the night of the murder, and the records also placed Pratt on the trail at the time police believe he set the body on fire. When police later searched Pratt’s home, she said, they found a bedroom carpet soaked with Johnson’s blood that had recently been cleaned with bleach.

“I could try this case today, there’s so much evidence,” Pope said after the hearing. She said Pratt burned Johnson’s body on two consecutive days, leaving it charred almost beyond recognition.

“This is the most badly burned body I have ever seen outside of a house fire,” she said.

Pratt, she said, killed Johnson to silence him. “This kid [Johnson] was an openly out, proud gay man who was clearly in a relationship with a man on the down low who had a problem with anyone knowing,” Pope said. .

Evidence obtained from Pratt’s phone showed that he had done Google searches for gay and transgender pornography, and also searched for “traits of a psychopath,” “having sex with dead bodies,” and “inside the mind of a serial killer,” she said.

Pratt’s lawyer, Gary Server called the evidence in the case “circumstantial” and said it was too early for him to discuss how he will defend Pratt.

“They have all the evidence that they have, but I don’t have that evidence. So, I can’t comment on their theory,” said Server.

Pratt’s mother, Ebony Pratt, said after the hearing that she does not believe her son had a relationship with Johnson and she does not believe he killed him. She said her son told her he did not know Johnson and he did not kill him.

“He’s OK,” she said of her son. “He’s trying to hold on as much as he can. He’s just trying to figure out why this is happening to him.”

Cynthia Johnson, Johnson’s grandmother, who raised him from the age of 1, stayed in the hallway during the hearing, unable to handle hearing the details surrounding his slaying. Afterward, she said she was grateful that Pratt was held for trial and that she hopes he will be convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

“I feel relief, I feel great, I feel happy,” she said. “I have not been happy since I lost him in February. And I am so happy for the team that is fighting for my grandson.”