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Murder-case witness fatally beaten

A 26-YEAR-OLD MAN who was a witness in a 2011 murder case and later recanted in court was brutally beaten to death by a group of men in West Philadelphia on Saturday night.

A 26-YEAR-OLD MAN who was a witness in a 2011 murder case and later recanted in court was brutally beaten to death by a group of men in West Philadelphia on Saturday night.

Police, however, said Sunday night that the beating death of Akeel Prout was probably not related to his testimony in a preliminary hearing in the murder of Hafeezah Nurid-Din, 31, an Overbrook mother of four who worked as a teacher.

An unknown number of men punched and kicked Prout about 10 p.m. on 55th Street near Wyalusing. He was pronounced dead less than a half-hour later at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

It did not appear that Prout was robbed, and police had not determined a motive as of Sunday night.

Prout had been known to police. In March, he was placed on three years' probation for a gun violation. No relatives of Prout's could be located.

Prout had been called as the first witness in the preliminary hearing for Daniel Shelley, now 19, who was charged in the murder of Nurid-Din. Shelley's trial is scheduled to begin in April.

Prout had given a detailed statement to police that he knew Shelley and had seen him pull a handgun from his sweatshirt and heard gunshots.

But in court, he said he didn't know Shelley, nor had he seen him pull out a gun. He didn't recall talking with police and only admitted helping Nurid-Din after she'd been shot.

Police believe that the night that Nurid-Din was killed, Shelley was seeking revenge for the shooting and wounding of his older brother, Anthony. Daniel and Anthony, who hung out with other teens on 54th Street, were in a feud with teens on 58th street.

Daniel Shelley pedaled his bike to 58th Street near Malvern Avenue about 8 p.m. Oct. 8, 2011. Shelley's rivals scattered, but Nurid-Din, who completed her master's degree and operated her own private elementary school and day care, was struck - one bullet in the shoulder, one in the back.

Nurid-Din's sister, Seidah, was inside the family home when she heard gunshots.

"I ran to the door and she was lying on the ground," Seidah said Sunday night. Their father, Saleem Nurid-Din, drove to the hospital while Seidah held her dying sister in the back seat.

When told of Prout's death Sunday night, Seidah said, "I feel bad for this family. It's just so sad. I didn't know."

"It's just horrible," her father, Saleem, said. "The only thing to say is it's horrible. It upsets me.

"I don't know what happened with that man's death, but I just feel bad for his family," he said.

"You see all this killing all over the country, all over the world. It has to stop."