PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia man turned himself in to police in Montgomery County on Wednesday after allegedly shooting and killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend at a gas station across from King of Prussia Mall.
Rafiq Thompson, 38, faces charges of first and third-degree murder and related counts after Tamara Cornelius, 31, was shot and killed Friday night, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said.
Mall surveillance video showed Cornelius and Thompson in the area of the Cheesecake Factory at about 9:10 p.m. Friday, according to investigators. They say that at about 10:15 p.m., Cornelius left that part of the mall, walked to her car, and drove to the gas station, and Thompson followed her.
Authorities cite gas station surveillance video of the shooting, as well as witnesses who said they each heard at least five gunshots. One of the witnesses said Thompson walked by his car and yelled, “I don’t care if I go to jail.”
The DA's office said Upper Merion Township police found her with gunshot wounds just before 10:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the Exxon gas station on Gulph Road just off of the I-76/202 interchange near the mall.
Cornelius was pronounced dead at an area hospital a short time later. An autopsy revealed that she was pregnant.
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Thompson is not allowed to own a firearm, due to what authorities said were previous convictions for aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The date of Thompson’s preliminary hearing had not yet been set Wednesday morning.
The DA’s office said bail is not available for first-degree murder charges.
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