Man slain; kin say he was kidnapped

The phone call came in the wee small hours of the morning on Saturday.

The voice on the other end had a menacing message for Victor Bones' sister: "If you want to see your brother or his phone, bring cash."

Before she could make sense of the caller's demands, the line went dead, said Denise Bones, Victor's cousin.

Victor, 31, had vanished on Friday. The Kensington resident never showed up for a planned get-together that night with a friend, his cousin said.

On Monday night, Bones' body was found in waist-high weeds in a lot at Hope and Turner streets.

A medical examiner determined that he had been shot at least twice, said Homicide Sgt. Frank Hayes.

Detectives were examining relatives' claims that Bones had been kidnapped and held for some unspecified ransom.

Beyond that, Hayes said, he couldn't comment on the investigation.

Denise Bones said her cousin, who has a 12-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, lived with his parents and one of his two sisters on Clearfield Street near F.

"He was very friendly, always willing to help somebody out," she said.

Bones recently worked at a meatpacking facility in Southwest Philly, his cousin said.

According to court records, Bones had been convicted several times of conspiracy and of possessing narcotics, and served time behind bars.

"When he was last seen, he told his sister he was going out with a friend," Denise said.

But Bones never met up with his pal. His family started calling his cell phone, but he didn't answer.

About 2 a.m. Saturday, Bones' sister received the unnerving phone call from someone who demanded cash.

The caller "said to bring money. He said some address really quickly, and then hung up," Denise Bones said. "No one ever figured out what the address was. They thought it was a prank at first."

On Sunday, when a sense of dread set in, Bones' mother tried to file a missing-person's report at the 24th District, headquartered on Whitaker Avenue near Erie. "They told her he was a grown man and could do whatever he wanted," Denise said.

The family returned to the district on Monday and filed a missing-person's report about 4:45 p.m., she said. A passer-by discovered Bones' body in the weed-strewn lot on Hope Street about a half-hour later.

Tipsters can contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334 or -3335.