Dolores Della Penna
Encyclopedia
Dolores Della Penna was a 17-year-old Philadelphia schoolgirl who was tortured, gang raped, murdered by dismemberment and beheaded in the Kensington neighborhood in July 1972.
Della Penna's torso and arms were later located in Jackson Township, New Jersey
, while her legs were found in neighboring Manchester Township near the border with Jackson. The young girl's head is believed to be located within a wall in "Turtles" former home in Tacony and the house has yet to be searched by law enforcement, and no bikers have yet been arrested in the case.
Official police reports state that Miss Della Penna was killed by drug dealers who believed that her boyfriend had stolen some of their drugs, but as the crime has remained unsolved this version of events will not be verified by law enforcement and is hotly contested.
Dolores Della Penna was abducted on the evening of July 11, 1972, in front of her home. She had taken the trolley home and was seen walking just over a block to her home. She never arrived. Shortly after 1 am, her parents called Philadelphia Police to report her missing. A Juvenile Aid Division Policewoman was dispatched and interviewed the parents. The circumstances did not "feel" like a runaway and shortly after dawn the Policewoman discovered Dolores' necklace and drops of blood in the street in front of her home. Neighbors were interviewed and several reported either seeing or hearing a disturbance the previous evening (about 10 pm) but admitted that they had failed to contact authorities. One witness claimed to have seen a man loading a "bundle" that might have been a young woman into an automobile. After being held at a specific location in the Kensington section of Philadelphia for 24 hours, she was murdered and dismembered by a machete. Several weeks later, body parts that were later identified as belonging to Dolores were found in Jackson, NJ where turkey buzzards had been seen circling. Dolores' torso and arms were found. Over the next year, the case had an active task force of full time detectives and officers. During that time hundreds of interviews were conducted and every lead was followed to no avail. (Source is the Policewoman originally assigned to the case.)
K&A Gang Connection
In the years following World War II, the Northeast Philly Mob, also known as K&A Gang, was the dominant Irish gang in the city's underworld. A multi-generational organized crime group made up of predominantly Irish and Irish American gangsters, this Philadelphia Mafia originated from a youth street gang based around the intersections of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues, which grew in power as local hoods and blue collar Irish Americans seeking extra income joined its ranks. In time, the group expanded and grew more organized; establishing lucrative markets in gambling, loan sharking, and burglary.
Philadelphia Police detective John DelCarlino (Retired 1980) had tracked the K&A gang for years. DelCarlino was aware of those members that had been involved with the horrific crime but lacked the evidence to proceed with arrests. In the mid-1990s DelCarlino personally asked Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham about the case after evidence had come to light in the mid-1990s.
"I knew her all of my career when she was an assistant [district attorney]. I ran into her at City Hall and she invited me into her office. There were five warrants that were going to be issued. I asked her why no arrest?" Abraham’s answer was that the case at the time was unwinnable. They’d rather not arrest with the evidence that they had.”
-Ret. Philadelphia Police Detective John E. DelCarlino.
Miscellaneous
Several others in law enforcement and investigative reporters have linked as many as nine other violent murders of women is similar fashion to these individuals and they include the following unsolved murder victims:
Carol Lee David
Bonny Lee David
Denise Marie Seaman
Debra Jean Delozier
Layne Dorothy Spicer
Mary Ann Lees
Della Penna's torso and arms were later located in Jackson Township, New Jersey
Jackson Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 42,816 people, 14,176 households, and 11,269 families residing in the township. The population density was 427.9 people per square mile . There were 14,640 housing units at an average density of 146.3 per square mile...
, while her legs were found in neighboring Manchester Township near the border with Jackson. The young girl's head is believed to be located within a wall in "Turtles" former home in Tacony and the house has yet to be searched by law enforcement, and no bikers have yet been arrested in the case.
Official police reports state that Miss Della Penna was killed by drug dealers who believed that her boyfriend had stolen some of their drugs, but as the crime has remained unsolved this version of events will not be verified by law enforcement and is hotly contested.
Dolores Della Penna was abducted on the evening of July 11, 1972, in front of her home. She had taken the trolley home and was seen walking just over a block to her home. She never arrived. Shortly after 1 am, her parents called Philadelphia Police to report her missing. A Juvenile Aid Division Policewoman was dispatched and interviewed the parents. The circumstances did not "feel" like a runaway and shortly after dawn the Policewoman discovered Dolores' necklace and drops of blood in the street in front of her home. Neighbors were interviewed and several reported either seeing or hearing a disturbance the previous evening (about 10 pm) but admitted that they had failed to contact authorities. One witness claimed to have seen a man loading a "bundle" that might have been a young woman into an automobile. After being held at a specific location in the Kensington section of Philadelphia for 24 hours, she was murdered and dismembered by a machete. Several weeks later, body parts that were later identified as belonging to Dolores were found in Jackson, NJ where turkey buzzards had been seen circling. Dolores' torso and arms were found. Over the next year, the case had an active task force of full time detectives and officers. During that time hundreds of interviews were conducted and every lead was followed to no avail. (Source is the Policewoman originally assigned to the case.)
K&A Gang Connection
In the years following World War II, the Northeast Philly Mob, also known as K&A Gang, was the dominant Irish gang in the city's underworld. A multi-generational organized crime group made up of predominantly Irish and Irish American gangsters, this Philadelphia Mafia originated from a youth street gang based around the intersections of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues, which grew in power as local hoods and blue collar Irish Americans seeking extra income joined its ranks. In time, the group expanded and grew more organized; establishing lucrative markets in gambling, loan sharking, and burglary.
Philadelphia Police detective John DelCarlino (Retired 1980) had tracked the K&A gang for years. DelCarlino was aware of those members that had been involved with the horrific crime but lacked the evidence to proceed with arrests. In the mid-1990s DelCarlino personally asked Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham about the case after evidence had come to light in the mid-1990s.
"I knew her all of my career when she was an assistant [district attorney]. I ran into her at City Hall and she invited me into her office. There were five warrants that were going to be issued. I asked her why no arrest?" Abraham’s answer was that the case at the time was unwinnable. They’d rather not arrest with the evidence that they had.”
-Ret. Philadelphia Police Detective John E. DelCarlino.
Miscellaneous
Several others in law enforcement and investigative reporters have linked as many as nine other violent murders of women is similar fashion to these individuals and they include the following unsolved murder victims:
Carol Lee David
Bonny Lee David
Denise Marie Seaman
Debra Jean Delozier
Layne Dorothy Spicer
Mary Ann Lees
External links
- http://www.phillyblog.com/philly/archive/index.php/t-9028.html
- http://www.northeasttimes.com/2007/1108/gangstwo.html
- Candace Clothier, police will not reveal the murders names
- Candace Clothier, police withhold killers identities who else was involved???
- http://www.9murders.com