Last week, when many Philadelphians were preparing to enjoy the Independence Day holiday, Philadelphia police were hard at work on a murder case that has rocked one of Northern Liberties' hottest new addresses.

On July 2, police announced the arrest of a 25-year-old woman for her alleged connection to the June 27 murders of Rian Thal and Timothy Gilmore.

Katoya Jones, a resident of the trendy Piazza at Schmidts complex where the grisly slayings took place, has been arrested and charged with murder.

Police believe Jones let the murderers into the building.

It has been speculated in reports elsewhere that Jones might have been a girlfriend of - or romantically linked to - a man who police believe devised the plot to ambush and kill Thal, 34, and Gilmore, 40.

When contacted Tuesday, July 7, Lt. Philip Riehl of the city's homicide unit refused to speculate on her relationship with the crime's unidentified mastermind, a reported drug dealer. He did say that police know another person, who was not at the Piazza, was involved.

"We don't know the full extent of her involvement," said Riehl. "But, another person is involved in this."

Jones has been charged with murder, conspiracy, burglary, criminal trespass and related offenses. She was arraigned on Wednesday.

TRAGIC START FOR A PROMISING LOCALE

On surveillance tapes released last week, Jones can be seen holding a door open to provide the first shooter with access to the Navona building, where both she and Thal had apartments.

Jones could then be seen heading to the second floor with the shooter before she walked toward her apartment on that floor.

The shooter eventually returned to the first floor to let two other persons into the building.

On the afternoon of Saturday, June 27, after the three men entered the building, they hid in stairwells and coordinated their movements in the building, each lying in wait for almost a half-hour until Thal and Jones arrived.

The men pounced on their prey as the pair exited the elevator on the seventh floor and headed toward Thal's apartment.

Moments before the shooting, both victims seemed to stop after strolling off the elevator on the seventh floor. They then peered out the upstairs windows, presumably looking for something awry.

Thal, who police believe had longtime connections to the city's drug underworld, was found around 5:30 p.m., shot twice, with bullet wounds in her head and neck.

Thal's companion, Jones, a former firefighter from Winchester, Ohio, who police suspect might have been using his trucking business to transport illegal drugs, also was found. Officers have said he was shot several times as he moved down the hallway and collapsed near the elevators.