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.

Inside her apartment, concealed in a bedroom closet, police found four kilograms of cocaine and more than $100,000 in cash.

Also, the police homicide unit's Riehl said that, in surveillance footage taken from that day, a man could be seen leaving the seventh floor shortly after the crime.

He was carrying a duffel bag as he left the building, taking time to step over the bodies, the lieutenant said.

Police believe he was hiding in Thal's apartment at the time of the shooting. Riehl said police are looking for the man.

"We know who he is; it's just a matter of finding him," he said.

Thal was known to have been a "party promoter," gathering crowds to happening night spots like Plush Nightclub, located not far from Northern Liberties, at 338 N. 8th Street.

Police are processing evidence secured from the crime scene, such as a fingerprint lifted from the building's lobby, where the first shooter waited for the other two men.

Investigators last week said they did not know how another man, who acted as a lookout for the gunmen, had gotten into the building. He had been standing near a hallway window on the sixth floor.

Also, while the identities of the four persons involved in the shooting still are unknown to police, Riehl said police do know the identity of the individual who might have engineered the ambush, and they're looking for him.

"We're still searching for the identities of the gunmen," said Riehl. "And we are actively pursuing the other suspect."

AN ISOLATED INCIDENT

During an afternoon visit to the Piazza on July 3, few of the many who were out and about taking in the sunshine seemed concerned with the days-old crime or Jones' more recent arrest.

On the warm, sunny Friday, many people toured the Piazza, most carrying shopping bags and boxes from one boutique to another as a live jazz band performed at the northern edge of the complex, located at 2nd Street and Germantown Avenue.

Instead, most asked to comment on the recent crime had seemingly put the murders behind them, citing the shooting as an "isolated incident."

"I don't think things will change here," said Seth Rovner, owner of Trick Zone, a specialty magic shop in the Piazza.

From the window of his store, Rovner could see the windows of the seventh floor in the building next door, the very windows both victims peered through moments before they were killed.

Just a few feet across the paved walkway from Rovner's shop is the very entrance where police suspect the three gunmen gained access to the building.

On the recent afternoon, a burly guard could be seen sitting inside the lobby.

Rovner said that, even with his shop so close to the murder scene, he hasn't seen a change in business.

"This was just an isolated incident. When it first happened, people were scared, people were talking about it until Monday I guess, but I haven't heard much since," said Rovner. "This could have happened anywhere."

"Isolated incident" was a common term repeated by others who enjoyed the weather on the recent afternoon.

Davis Myers, stopped as he headed toward the new PYT Burgers restaurant in the Piazza - on his way to apply for a job, he said - doesn't think the shooting will change anyone's perception of the multimillion- dollar complex.

"The Sunday after that, there was a concert here," he said. "It seems like it was an isolated incident."

"People talk about it a lot, but I haven't seen any change in foot traffic," said Jenn Procacci, who was working at High Fidelity photography gallery during last Friday afternoon.

"Other than that incident, it's been pretty peaceful, there hasn't even been a fist fight or anything," she continued.

President of the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, Matt Ruben, said not only was the recent shooting an "isolated incident," but the violent crime was so focused that he doesn't think anyone other than the intended targets would have needed to worry about violence in the neighborhood.

"When a violent crime happens, it certainly has an effect on the community," said Ruben. "But, this was not a random incident. I think people in this neighborhood understand what they need to be concerned about and what they don't . . . and what they don't need to be concerned about is their safety in that area, because this seemed to be an isolated incident."

Ruben said that, instead, Northern Liberties residents should be on the lookout for crimes like car break-ins and home burglaries, since, unlike murder, these are the most prevalent crimes in the community.

"(The shooting) was specific to someone who was involved in a certain activity. It was not aimed randomly," he said.

Reporter Hayden Mitman can be reached at 215-354-3124 or hmitman@phillynews.com