A Holmesburg woman was stabbed fatally in the head, neck and chest before a passer-by discovered her corpse in a shallow grave in a backyard within yards of the Market-Frankford El on March 24, authorities say.
Nobody has been charged with the homicide, but Philadelphia police took a suspect into custody after he allegedly attempted to flee a rowhouse at the burial site and struggled with officers. The victim was later identified as Kelly Hepfl, 39, of the 8300 block of Frankford Ave. The city’s medical examiner determined that she had been murdered.
A passer-by alerted police to her body shortly before noon when he noticed what appeared to be a human foot protruding from the dirt. Members of the Crime Scene Unit unearthed the corpse, which was shrouded in black plastic bags and packaging tape.
When police initially arrived at the scene, they saw a man later identified as Jeffrey Bowen, 30, peering through a second-floor window overlooking the yard. Bowen, a resident of the 5900 block of Reach St. in Lawncrest, allegedly tried to flee the house but police stopped him at the front door and arrested him after a brief struggle. He was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and reckless endangerment. He remains in custody in lieu of $350,000 bail, an amount indicating that he remains a suspect in Hepfl’s slaying.
Police did not indicate how long the woman may have been deceased and what the motive may have been for her murder. Detectives continue to investigate the case. ••
