Father acquitted, friend convicted of manslaughter in death of boy, 7, who fell off train
Troy Devlin, 39, of Strawberry Mansion, the father of Aden Devlin, was acquitted. Jahras Edwards, 28, also of Strawberry Mansion, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and endangerment charges.
A Philadelphia judge on Monday acquitted a father of endangering the welfare of his son, but convicted a family friend of involuntary manslaughter and related offenses in the death of a 7-year-old boy who fell between subway cars while selling candy on a moving train.
Common Pleas Court Judge J. Scott O’Keefe granted a defense motion to acquit Troy Devlin, 39, of Strawberry Mansion, the father of Aden Devlin, following a half-day nonjury trial.
O’Keefe convicted Jahras Edwards, 28, also of Strawberry Mansion, of involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and reckless endangerment, and set sentencing for June 11. He acquitted Edwards of third-degree murder and conspiracy.
Edwards had brought Aden and the boy’s 11-year-old brother on the Broad Street Line subway on Sept. 23, 2018, to sell Welch’s Fruit Snacks, something he had done with various kids for months. He had the parents’ permission to do so. Troy Devlin was not on the train.
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Video evidence from SEPTA train cameras played during the trial showed Edwards entering a subway car alone and staying one car ahead of the two boys. The boys, each holding a box of fruit snacks, sold the candy in another car, then walked in between the cars using the connecting doors when the train stopped.
But at one point, when the southbound train was near the Allegheny station, the older boy opened the door while the train was still moving, and Aden walked in between the cars and fell.
SEPTA Police Lt. Nicole Lawson testified that when she arrived at the scene where the train stopped, between the Allegheny and North Philadelphia stations, she saw a “small body, mutilated.” Packs of Welch’s Fruit Snacks and dollar bills were scattered nearby.
Assistant District Attorney Adam Geer said in his closing argument that Edwards disregarded the children’s safety, causing Aden’s death, because “the profits were too good.”
Geer presented evidence that in 2017, Edwards had been with other children who were on a subway selling candy and was cited for unlawful vending. From January 2017 to the day of Aden’s death, Geer said, Edwards had purchased 405 boxes of Welch’s grape fruit snacks containing a total of 13,656 individual packs.
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Edwards’ attorney, Zak Goldstein, called Aden’s death a “tragic accident.”
“This is a crime of poverty,” he said, noting that in the 2017 incident, when questioned by a SEPTA officer, Edwards said the kids were selling candy because that was “how we eat.”
In arguing for Devlin’s acquittal, his attorney, Michael McDermott, said the prosecutor presented no evidence that Devlin knew Edwards was taking the children from subway car to car to sell candy.
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After the trial, Devlin said he was “relieved” that he was acquitted. An involuntary manslaughter charge against Devlin had been dismissed by a judge at his 2019 preliminary hearing.