Police seek public help in Beau Zabel's death

Philadelphia police made an urgent plea yesterday for the public's help in catching the killer of Beau Zabel and said the promising 23-year-old, who left Minnesota to teach math in the city, was likely slain for one item: his iPod.

Detectives were scrutinizing surveillance tapes from a South Philadelphia corner store, where Zabel stopped to buy a soda early Sunday, and said they may have captured the killer's running to and from the crime scene in the 800 block of Ellsworth Street.

Jerry T. Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, called the slaying of Zabel, who was in the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows program, "yet another wake-up call to the city's leaders to do everything within their power to improve safety on our streets and in our schools."

Zabel, who had a temporary job at a Starbucks store at Fourth and South Streets, had ended his night shift and crossed paths with the gunman about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

As he headed toward his apartment in the 900 block of Ellsworth, he stopped at a vending machine at Passyunk and Washington Avenues, near the Italian Market.

Tape from two surveillance cameras shows him walking away from the machine outside Capt. Jesse G. Inc., a fish and fruit stand, and turning onto Ellsworth, out of camera range.

About the same time, the tapes show a male figure running from Ellsworth and down Passyunk, then doubling back to Passyunk.

He appears to be retrieving something from the wheel well of a parked vehicle - police said it might be the murder weapon - and running back to Ellsworth.

The shooting is not shown on the tapes.

Homicide Capt. James Clark stopped short of calling the person the killer but said detectives were dissecting the tape and trying to come up with an accurate description in hope the man could be identified.

Clark said the murder weapon was a 9mm handgun that had not been recovered.

Zabel was shot once in the left side of the neck and fell to the sidewalk, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Friends told police that Zabel always had his iPod with him to listen to music or, more likely, comedy he had downloaded from the Internet.

Zabel's roommate, who did not want to be identified, said he kept the device in his front pocket.

"He was never worried about his safety and never thought he would become a victim," said the roommate, a recent Temple University graduate who plans to become a teacher.

When homicide detectives arrived, the iPod was missing and the left pocket where Zabel usually carried it had been turned inside out, Clark said. Zabel's backpack - with his wallet and money inside - was left behind, Clark said.

Through yesterday morning, there had been 144 homicides in 2008, compared with 182 through the morning of June 16, 2007.

Arlene Ackerman, chief executive of the Philadelphia School District, praised Zabel's dedication.

"We . . . are deeply saddened by the senseless loss of Beau Zabel, a young man who held such great promise as an aspiring teacher and Philadelphia teaching fellow," Ackerman said in a statement. "His desire to become an educator was inspiring, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends."

Jordan, the teacher union president, said Zabel's "desire to bring his tremendous talents to our students is a testament to the kind of young man he must have been."

Zabel was drawn to the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows program because it would allow him to teach in city public schools while getting his certification through Drexel University.

The second of three children, Zabel, an Eagle Scout who played viola in high school and college, grew up in the small city of Austin, just north of the Iowa border.

He graduated in 2007 from Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., where he studied mathematics, Spanish, philosophy and computer science. He chose the teaching program here because he had relatives in Pennsylvania, his family said.

Zabel's mother, Lana Zamora, 51, and her husband, Dan, visited her son's apartment yesterday to collect his belongings, and to meet with his roommate and homicide detectives.

The couple walked the one-mile route from her son's apartment to the Starbucks and then returned, following his final steps.

"I can see what he loved about that neighborhood, how many different aspects there were to explore," said Zamora, who works as a victim's advocate in Minnesota and who said she was touched by the condolences neighbors offered.

Detectives briefed Zamora on the investigation, but she said she did not want to know too much.

"The person who did this is evil," said Zamora, who described herself as a devout Christian. "If they catch this person, then you'll have people trying to humanize that person and excuse their behavior. It's at that point that I'd become angry."

The family arranged for the cremation of Zabel's remains, which they will take home to Minnesota today.

Plans for a memorial service were incomplete. Arrangements are being made by Worlein Funeral Home, 1801 Fourth St. N.W., Austin, Minn. 55917.