Man charged
in Lawndale murder

Philadelphia police on Saturday arrested a 20-year-old Lawndale man for allegedly stabbing to death his 64-year-old female landlord and stashing her corpse for almost a week in a bedroom of the apartment that they shared.
Police identified the victim as Jocelyne Desay, of the 5900 block of Hasbrook Ave. Officers discovered her body shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday as they went to her home at the request of family members who hadn’t heard from her in a while and were concerned for her safety.
Desay had been stabbed multiple times in the neck and was found lying between a bed and a wall in a rear bedroom.
Homicide investigators questioned Jerry Jean, the man who had been renting a room from Desay, and charged him the following day with murder and abuse of corpse.
The killing allegedly occurred at about 6:40 a.m. on April 5 as Desay and Jean argued, reportedly over dirty dishes. Jean allegedly lived in the apartment with the dead woman throughout the ensuing week. ••