Opinion ID: 4027532
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Police Investigation and the Trial

Text: The police undertook an investigation into the Williams murder, primarily aimed at determining the identity of the shooter. Frank Jastrzembski led a team of detectives who pursued the investigation based on rumors that “Jimmy” Dennis from the Abbottsford Homes projects in East Falls1 committed the crime, despite being unable to identify the source of the rumors. Resting on tips by neighbors from the 1 The Fern Rock SEPTA station is located in North Philadelphia. The Abbottsford projects are located in Northwest Philadelphia. 5 projects, police proceeded with Dennis as the primary, if not the sole, suspect.2 Detectives obtained eyewitness reports and identifications, very few of which aligned with Dennis’s appearance. Nearly all of the eyewitnesses who gave height estimates of the shooter described him as between 5’9” and 5’10.” He was described as having a dark complexion and weighing about 170 to 180 pounds. The victim, Williams, had a similar build as the shooter; she was 5’10” and weighed 150 pounds. Dennis, on the other hand, is 5’5” tall and weighed between 125 and 132 pounds at the time of trial. Prior to trial, three eyewitnesses identified Dennis in a photo array, at an in-person lineup, and at a preliminary hearing: Williams’s friend, Zahra Howard; a man working on a garage near the intersection, Thomas Bertha; and a SEPTA employee who was standing in front of the station at the time of the murder, James Cameron.3 2 Detective Jastrzembski testified at trial that neither the alleged second individual nor the person in the car were ever arrested, although the case was ongoing. 3