Reward in fatal purse-snatching boosted to almost $50K
The Philadelphia FOP is upping the reward for information in the Amber Long fatal purse-snatching by $10,000, boosting the total reward to $46,000.
Turn in the "cowards, the thugs, the dirtballs, the scumbags" who killed Amber Long during a botched purse-snatching in Northern Liberties last month, and John McNesby will give you a pile of money.
McNesby, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5 president, announced this morning that the FOP would kick in another $10,000 to the $10,000 it already contributed to the $36,000 reward for clues leading to the capture and conviction of Long's killers. There's one hitch: Tipsters must act by midnight Sunday to get the extra $10,000. McNesby called it "a bounty" that he hopes will spur a reluctant tipster - maybe even the triggerman's accomplices - to cooperate with police to crack the unsolved case.
Long, 26, an architect, was walking with her mother Stephanie to retrieve her car about 10:30 p.m. Jan. 19 on Front Street near Poplar when two gunmen emerged from the shadows and demanded both womens' purses. Stephanie Long gave hers up, but her daughter resisted the robbery try, prompting one thug to shoot her once in the chest. Both men then fled in a dark-colored car driven by a third suspect.
"A coward act," McNesby said of the robbery and slaying. "If you bring in this doer, the person who shot this poor, defenseless girl, by Sunday, midnight, we will double our reward from $10,000 to $20,000, cash."
The city already had offered a $20,000 reward in the case, while the Citizens' Crime Commission is offering $6,000. With the FOP money, the total reward now is up to $46,000.
Lt. Mark Deegan of the homicide unit said investigators have no suspects or descriptions of the killers. Stephanie Long didn't get a good look at her daughter's killers. Tipsters can call (215) 546-TIPS or homicide detectives at (215) 686-3334 or -3335.