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Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 507
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 1:59 pm: | 
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I'm going to put up some material here about a man who died in a manner that is very similar to how some of the victims of JTR did back in 1888.
The difference being that this was a prole black man,with no connections, in the Badlands of my otherwise terrific town...Philadelphia.
I came close to the Pulitzer,when Dan Norder put a story I compiled from local reporters and some of my "work" in issue 19 of Ripper Notes.
Its a classic example of how people [ in this case, a man...] can be killed in ways very similar to Mrs. Eddowes and Mrs. Chapman were and not have signs of sexual contact,but mutilations that defy description....and profiler opinion.
My friend and PhD,Dr. Dawn Perlmutter,from New Jersey,was called immediately to help with the Philadelphia Police. A lot of people,maybe just like you,aren't aware that several large urban sites [ especially in the Bos-Wash megalopolis ]have units that deal with ritual killing.
Now you do.
HowBrown
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Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 508
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 2:14 pm: |
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Here you go.....and remember to subscribe to Ripper Notes ! or I'll get mean on yo' spleen.
Case Insensitive: The Philadelphia Ripper -Howard Brown..The Ladies choice in Ripperology..
February 28th, 2003 was almost like any other Winter day in Philadelphia. Cold, raw, and typically overcast. Being that it was a Friday, the only bright spot was that the weekend was approaching. In North Philadelphia, for many,that meant a rejuvenation of drug sales on the meanest streets of the city. This, after all, is The Badlands.
The Badlands of Philadelphia are the area that branch out from Broad Street,from Erie Avenue in the north to Spring Garden in the south, Ridge Avenue on the west to Front St. on the east side. Almost exclusively an Afro-American/Hispanic enclave, the Badlands are Philadelphia’s Whitechapel and in more ways than one,as we shall see.
A testament to White flight and the relocation of plants,mills,and once thriving factories to the suburbs and Sun Belt, the Badlands are an area where , at night, “anything goes”. Police presence can usually be found in force on the main drag,Broad Street,patrolling and ostensibly stifling potential acts of prostitution. However,its the side streets where from row homes ( Philadelphia has more row homes than any city on Earth ) and dark alleys that much of the nocturnal activity occurs. Vacant lots and abandoned buildings are the norm, not the exception. Boarded-up homes and homes barricaded from within by drug dealers are quite common. From this environment,the serial killers, Gary Heidnik and Marty Graham, savaged women in North Philadelphia back in the 1980's.
When one reads Paul Begg’s book, JTR, The Definitive History ( Longman Press ), the reader will find a terrific history of how the East End of London came about. The East End of the late 19th Century was once a thriving community with 50,000 people employed in the silk industry alone in 1854 (1). 25 years later,that figure had shrunk to 3,000.
So too,North Philadelphia had thrived. Those were the old days,however,as dozens of large employers moved away,leaving a huge portion of Philadelphia’s working class-blacks scrambling for whatever jobs were available.
It is the old days of 1950's Philadelphia,that attracted Willie “Pete” Kent, to the city in the first place. Born on May 11th, 1942,in Savannah,Georgia, Willie James Kent was adopted into a family of 15 children. His mother had nicknamed him “Pete Chachi”,for reasons unknown,but the “Pete” remained. Kent, a man barely 5 foot tall, became a union steel and iron cutter as well as a Deacon at a nearby church. He met a woman,Earthadine Christy,with whom he had one daughter, Letrese. Kent and Ms. Christy never married. Willie Kent and his ladyfriend were neighborhood fixtures in North Philadelphia.
He was also part of the now-defunct North Philadelphia Political Caucus, a group formed in the late '70s to "try and change conditions, particularly east of Broad Street," says state Sen. Shirley M. Kitchen, who worked with him in those efforts. Kitchen recalls Kent meeting with elected officials on several occasions to explain why they needed to pay more attention to North Philadelphia.
In some respects, Kent's problems--namely those with alcohol--got the better of him.
In better days he was often seen sweeping the block of Seventh Street between Jefferson and Oxford until it was as spotless as North Philly can get. About six years ago he wound up living on those same streets.
An image recounted over and over again by those who knew him was that of a man who earned his money and would spend some of it on an ale or two.
Sober, he was soft-spoken to the point of near silence. When he opened his mouth, it was always in a respectful manner. But after even a single beer, the lovefest began. He wouldn't hesitate to tell anybody and everybody how much he cared for them.
Never, say friends, did the booze turn him violent. And never--contrary to some reports in this narcotics-infested sliver of the city--did relatives see him dabbling in drugs.
Locals credit Christy with keeping an eye on Kent and always being there for him when he faced the troubles that dogged him in life.
Though it may be difficult for some to understand, Kent just "chose to make people think that he was homeless," says his daughter.
He'd stay at Bryant's home for months at a time, but once it warmed up outside, he'd ultimately take another of his street-life sabbaticals.
About 25 blocks away from Bryant's home sits David's Food Market, the corner grocery where Kent helped out for the two decades before his death. His bosses loved him and considered him family.
Kent lived on the money he made at the food market and a monthly disability check. (2)
Willie “Pete” Kent definitely deserved better than the way they found him on that cold,gray day in February, 2003. Dumped in an alley on 1520 Eighth Street,in the Badlands, Pete was found with a rope around his neck,frozen and most definitely dead.
Along with the apparent garroting, Kent was “laid open like a frog in biology class”. Throat slashed and with wounds that call to mind the Fiend of Whitechapel, his heart,his liver,and his kidney were missing. Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson was heard to say on television ,”Whoever did this,knew what they were doing..”
This horrific crime happened 14 and ½ months ago. To date, the police are still mum on the case. Dr. Dawn Perlmutter,PhD, one of the world’s leading experts on occult/ritual crime, was called in to give her observations to the case. To date,and since Dr. Perlmutter would be considered working on an open active case,she is not at liberty to discuss the murder.
In addition,this crime has seemingly fallen off the face of the earth, for the most part, in Philadelphia. Daily News writers,Jim Nolan and Nicole Weisensee, are just about the only interested parties one can approach for updates and they have none. The Police aren’t discounting anything,however,as the following incident will attest to.
Immediately after reading this story in the March 1st edition of both Philadelphia papers, and after contacting the media by e-mail and phone, I mentioned to one media reporter that it appeared that we may have an occult/ritual killing incident here. I also mentioned that Ivor Edwards,the author of Jack The Ripper,Black Magic Rituals, was called in to examine the murder of an African boy in London a few years prior. Incredibly,Ivor was contacted by the local Isle Of Wight police,who told him the Philadelphia Police Dept, was asking questions about him ! As we see, by calling in Dr. Perlmutter, and contacting another criminologist,Ivor,the Philly PD is not simply sitting on their hands.
But is the media ? Excluding the few writers who have tackled the case, there has been almost an indecent omission regarding updates to this case for the public.. The similarities of Whitechapel’s canonical 5 and The Badlands’ Pete Kent stop where interest begins. These 5 women unwillingly were the catalysts to a 116 year investigation that seems inexhaustible.....
Its my contention that had Willie Pete Kent been a suburban ( read=white ) kid seeking to score cocaine in the neighborhood and wound up ripped like Kent did, we would have seen more, a lot more, regarding the case. Had Pete been a public figure,a rabbi, a school teacher, or a member of the Mayor’s family, the concomitant coverage would have been staggering. It is noteworthy to mention that there have been 2 prevalent theories regarding HOW he died. The first, is that he was eviscerated and then dumped into that trash-strewn alley...the second is that he died of natural causes ( with a rope around his neck?) And then eviscerated,possibly by someone with an interest in selling organs.
There won’t be any “walks’ for Pete Kent,as there are for the Canonical 5. The Badlands are still the Badlands,unlike Whitechapel,which has been upgraded. There likewise doesn’t seem to be an interest in bringing to light the possible occult nature of this crime,despite having access to one of the world’s best authorities on these type of crimes. Is this a case of sweeping proverbial dirt under the rug ? Only time will tell.
1- JTR,The Definitive History by Paul Begg...Longman,2003,page 19.
2-Remains of The Day-Hickey,2003,Philadelphia Wkly.
HowBrown
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Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 509
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 2:24 pm: |
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Twenty Eight months and 2 days later...still nothing to report on the cold blooded killer[s] that snuffed this man out.
Had this man been Rev. Al Sharpton's cousin..or Tupac Shakur's friend....the authorities would be working just a little harder to find the source of Mr. Kent's gruesome death.
But...money talks...and bullshit walks { former Philly councilman and Lewisburg prison inmate,Ozzie Myers. }
HowBrown
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David O'Flaherty
Chief Inspector
Username: Oberlin
Post Number: 906
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 2:48 pm: |
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Hi Howard,
I remember reading about this case when it happened. Since you say publicity has been a problem, I wonder if the local chapter of the NAACP or some other advocacy group has been contacted? With the recent exhumation of Emmett Till in the news, the timing might be right for them to generate some interest in the Kent case, which might lead to something new being brought forward.
Cheers,
Dave |
AP Wolf
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Apwolf
Post Number: 2162
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 4:45 pm: |
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Howard
this is not an unusual case, especially regarding the press and police attitudes.
I enjoyed your review of it.
If you have further detail I'd be interested in looking at it. |
Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 511
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 05, 2005 - 8:38 pm: |
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Dave...
Regarding the local chapter of the NAACP getting involved, I don't think they would for a couple of reasons, although someone,no matter whom,should have.
The Police commissioner,Sylvester Johnson,was on television and I heard him say that the killer[s] knew what they were doing. To me,that indicates either someone who has done that before or a degree of meticulousness not found in a random murder with mutilation.
Face it Dave....the guy was a prole. Blacks are no different, in their degree of elitism towards crime victims,unless there is something for a group or cause to benefit by, than Asians or Whites are. They've been appraised of the murder,as there are a number of NAACP members in North Philly. Of course,had there been the slightest notion of a non-black hand at work here, there would definitely be more interest.
The local press corps haven't contacted me in a year,as I did express a lot of interest in the case. There's really nothing to learn by someone going down to Kent's daughter and asking her,as she is in the dark as much as the next person.
The other reason regarding the indifference toward this victim is the possible effort on the part of black community leaders to keep it downplayed and underreported, as it doesn't make the neighborhood look very good [ as it doesn't in reality...The Badlands aren't called that for nothing...] and discourages outside money from attempts at redevelopement. Thats just a hunch.
A.P.
Yes ma'am...as soon as I do find anything out,I will definitely place it on this thread. Even though I was ripped off for the Pulitzer, I'll swallow my pride and keep on a'looking....
Thanks for the nice remarks...
HowBrown
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AP Wolf
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Apwolf
Post Number: 2171
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 2:25 pm: |
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Howard
Given the age of the victim at time of murder and slaughter - 61 - I have my sincere doubts that this crime was of a ritualistic or occult nature… of course it is not impossible, but normally such occult or ritualistic murders are directed at much younger victims, young men & women, even children.
The rope around the neck combined with the throat cutting puts me more in mind of a ‘revenge’ murder.
That however does not explain the slaughter and missing body parts, but if I were a police officer involved in this crime I would certainly be looking at the ‘disposable’ motive, to wit, the killer was simply disposing of his victim but ran out of luck or time.
The post mortem report should clear this up nicely, for if they were indicating marks on the limbs then we could safely classify the crime as ‘disposable’. |
Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 519
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 6:47 pm: |
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A.P.
As time goes by and no other murders have been remotely connected to this one, I see what you are talking about. You may be right. A vendetta killing.
But,just to note it for the notin's sake...this man had no known enemies at all. A revenge hit on this guy,that goes to that extreme? Hmm...This man had barely more than the proverbial pot to piss in. There's a really bad egg down there in the Badlands that did this. Its also worth remembering he was found with his coat on,as I remember it,as it was February and baby, its cold in Philly in February... and perhaps there were no marks on his arms for what you are suggesting...
I am not sure if I can obtain a post-mortem report on this case,as Dr.Perlmutter is still not available to comment on it. I will try,A.P. and I'll let you know.
Thanks for the post.
HowBrown
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Jeffrey Bloomfied
Chief Inspector
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 690
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 8:43 pm: |
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Hi Howard,
Fascinating, and really scary. It reminds us that if the Ripper had been of a mind, he might have changed to the male sex and really scared the Victorian power structure. Your comments about the police reaction with poor Mr. Kent is probably quite on target too.
Remember a few years ago when Andrew Culinan was killing all those gay men throughout the country. It was noted but nothing seemed to be done about it. Then he kills Mr. Versace in Florida. All of a sudden, within a week or less, he's dead just as he was about to be arrested. The statement about money talks is still very true.
Best wishes,
Jeff |
David O'Flaherty
Chief Inspector
Username: Oberlin
Post Number: 915
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 9:23 pm: |
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Hi Jeffrey,
Andrew Cunanan, what a scary person. I agree with you that money talks. Actually Versace wasn't the first wealthy person Cunanan murdered--Chicago real estate tycoon Lee Miglin was probably nearly as rich as Versace; the Chicago press was all over Cunanan's trail before he turned up at Versace's house. I used to live on Lakeshore Drive, very near Miglin's home--not the kind of neighborhood you expect to encounter a spree killer. The Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal George lives only a couple of blocks away on the border of Lincoln Park.
Dave |
Howard Brown
Chief Inspector
Username: Howard
Post Number: 520
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 - 9:28 pm: |
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J.B.
I hear you my man....Indefense of the police and press,in this scenario,they really didn't have a chance in hell of catching up to Cunanan, as his "pattern" was improvised by the minute,it seemed. I'm pretty sure that the police were working fervently on catching him,but he operated in such varied areas [ Illinois and New Jersey,I believe,as well as Florida.]. Thats an area larger than Scandinavia,if I am correct.
But in the long run,you are correct that income and profession [ more than the other criteria, such as ethnicity used to be ]will have the police working overtime to find a solution to crimes that are often,sadly,put on the back burner,because of economic status or "job" choice. We still have an string of deaths here that haven't been talked about since the Spring of 2004. In this skein...they are,as you can guess, prostitute victims.
Jeff...I have [ somewhere in this computer ] a streaming video or the link to the interview with Commish Johnson,where he said this killer "knew what he was doing". Yet..I agree wholeheartedly with A.P. that in normal,if thats really a word that can be applied to these freaks, ritual killings,such as Palo Mayombe and/or Muti...or even the Cardozo slayings in Mexico by middle class/affluent collegiates back 20 yrs.ago or so, that this Kent killing doesn't "fit" the style of these groups. His torso wasn't left out for "display" as is common for ritual cults. No symbols left...no calling cards..nada. What may be noteworthy in one sense, is that in North Philadelphia,which is essentially a black area,there are few African immigrants that reside there. Most African immigrants,and I work with two at the present time,live in West Philly,which does have a sizeable West African immigrant population. It seems improbable that members of a west African cult,such as Muti or Palo Mayombe,would come and gut a North Philly citizen...
Money does talk,J.B....same as always.
All the best
HowBrown
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Quimbisero
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 08, 2005 - 6:24 pm: |
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It's a pitty you guys have more interest in being "macho" than you have in getting at the truth. The Cardozo slayings in the South West bear as much similarity to real Palo Mayombe, as the Jim Jones cult has to do with conservative Christianity. And Dr Perlmutter knows as much about Palo as you or I do about the grammatical rules of ancient Sanskrit, ie, nothing. Trust me, I did my doctoral thesis on the subject, and unlike Dr. Perlmutter who constantly quotes poorly researched popular market books on the subject, I went to Cuba to do my work. It's a pitty that people are taken in by amateurs looking to make a buck. |
Baron von Zipper
Inspector
Username: Baron
Post Number: 239
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2005 - 1:29 pm: |
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Quimby,
Most doctoral candidates know how to spell "pity".
Cheers
Mike
"La madre degli idioti è sempre incinta"
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Howard Brown
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Howard
Post Number: 1108
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2005 - 4:48 pm: |
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Mister Quim:
"And Dr Perlmutter knows as much about Palo as you or I do about the grammatical rules of ancient Sanskrit, ie, nothing."
Sez you.
"It's a pitty you guys have more interest in being "macho" than you have in getting at the truth."
Where does "machismo" come into play here,Quim?
Puzzled in the Citty of Philadelphia |
Howard Brown
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Howard
Post Number: 1112
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 8:18 pm: |
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...and speaking of Dr.Perlmutter...
Tonight, November 10th, on TLC [ The Learning Channel ] at 11 P.M. EST...Dr.Dawn is featured on the program "Pact With The Devil"...an hour long documentary that discusses true and possibly true satanic/occult murders throughout the USA.
The Philadelphia Ripper case is the first segment of the program. |
Baron von Zipper
Inspector
Username: Baron
Post Number: 242
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 5:42 pm: |
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How,
I didn't think you could get away with saying "Quim" on these boards. Congrats.
Mike
"La madre degli idioti è sempre incinta"
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Howard Brown
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Howard
Post Number: 1113
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 - 5:55 pm: |
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Baron:
Thanks my man ! I actually didn't mean it in that way.....Maybe Quimbisero can come back and 'splain where he or she got their doctorate.
Your pal,
Trendsetter |
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