Cops: Woman 'brutally' beaten, fatally stabbed in North Philly park
Detectives were continuing to search for clues in the slaying of Debra Gulliver, who was killed in Reyburn Park on Saturday.
Debra Gulliver got off the bus at 21st Street and Lehigh Avenue around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, then walked through Reyburn Park toward her house. Less than an hour later, she was dead — beaten, stabbed, partially clothed, and left to lie in the park in a pool of her own blood.
That was the account that Philadelphia police gave Monday as investigators continued to search for suspects in Gulliver's death, one of four killings in the city over the weekend.
Capt. James Clark of the Homicide Unit said that whoever killed Gulliver "knocked her to the ground, brutally beat her, [and] stabbed her" more than 12 times. He said that although Gulliver's pants had been pulled down, it was not immediately clear whether she had been sexually assaulted. Police also were not sure whether one person was responsible for the killing or if several people participated, and they were not certain whether it was a targeted or random attack.
A GoFundMe page set up by Gulliver's brother quickly filled up with memories of the 33-year-old as people offered condolences for her family. Friends on social media also wrote tributes, describing her as a dedicated friend with a sweet and loving spirit.
Ronald Cala, who attended high school in Upper Darby with Gulliver, said she was thoughtful and generous, and supported others without seeking anything in return.
"She was one of those people that is always trying to make someone else feel better," he said. "Whenever she knew someone was having a hard time, she would contact them … and make sure they were OK."
Clark said that Gulliver had been on Kensington Avenue near Somerset Street about an hour before the slaying, and that she rode the bus back to her North Philadelphia neighborhood with a friend.
Around 2:30 a.m. at 21st and Lehigh, Gulliver and her friend got off, Clark said. The friend — a man whom Clark did not identify — walked in a different direction than Gulliver, who cut through the park toward her home, according to Clark.
Around 3:10 a.m., police responded to the park and found Gulliver on the ground on a path behind Dobbins Technical High School. She was pronounced dead about 10 minutes later.
Clark said three people called 911 that night: a man who said he had been robbed by two men in the park before he saw Gulliver’s body, and two men — believed to be the alleged robbers — who remained in the park until police arrived, then left.
Clark said investigators were still hoping to speak with those two men, but did not categorize anyone as a suspect. He said police were sorting through surveillance video, as well as the accounts given to police by the man who called 911, and the friend who rode the bus with Gulliver.
“We are looking, still, at everybody,” Clark said.
Tipsters can call the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334. As in all homicide cases, a $20,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.