'Person of interest' being questioned in Levittown deaths

A 21-YEAR-OLD man is being questioned in connection with the deaths of a pregnant 22-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter Monday at a Levittown apartment building.

Authorities said Marcel Johnson was taken into custody in the parking lot of the Avalon Court apartments on Oxford Valley Road shortly after Ebony Talley and her little girl, R'mani Rankins, were discovered in a fire. Talley was pronounced dead at the scene, while Rankins died at a local hospital. Police said both victims were stabbed, but the cause of death has not been revealed.

"It's fair to say he is a person of interest," Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler said. "He was certainly someone who was taken into custody by the police in connection with this investigation. He was found to have drug paraphernalia in his possession, and it turned out once he got into the [District Justice] office [he is] a scofflaw in terms of some outstanding parking fines. He's locked up on those for the time being."

A source said Johnson was the last person seen with Talley before the fire, and that he was seen driving a vehicle used by Talley after the fire.

Heckler said it is unclear whether Johnson had a relationship with Talley, but investigators believe he was homeless and looking to "crash" at an apartment Talley had been subletting from a woman who was out of the country.

"[We're] not ready to charge him. Not sure if we will charge him. We're continuing to investigate," Heckler said.

It is also unclear whether the fire was set to conceal the crime - something the district attorney called "a decent inference" - or if it was accidental.

Heckler said investigators hope to have the scene fully processed by today and get a clearer picture of what happened.

Talley's family said she was seven months pregnant, according to reports.

The American Red Cross said yesterday it was still assisting five people temporarily displaced by the fire.