Jonathan Pitts and Nakeisha Finks were murdered inside their home on Delancey Street near 55th Street in 2009. Another man was charged in the killing and later acquitted — then, a man named James Barrow walked into a police station two years ago.
Barrow, 32, told officers at a Delaware state police station that he killed three people in two different murders, according to Philadelphia District Attorney Chief of Homicide Anthony Voci.
"In both cases, he broke into the place where they lived, he bound them, gagged them, and executed them by shooting them both in the head," he summarized. "For some unknown reason, in February of 2016, seven years after the murder took place, he walked into a police station in Delaware and confessed."
The motive in each murder: robbery.
Barrow also confessed to the murder of another man, Kamara Joseph, and was convicted of first-degree murder in that slaying in October 2018. He was sentenced to life in prison, but Voci said they still had questions.
"One of the reasons we had questions about the double murders is the victims were bound with duct tape, and on one of the pieces of duct tape from the double murder, there was a very, very good fingerprint in the center of a piece of tape on the inside or underside sticky part," said Voci. "And we always thought someone else was involved because of this fingerprint that didn't match James Barrow."
Detectives tracked the fingerprint to another man: Tyrek Smith.
"It came up to an individual that has ties to James Barrow, and in fact visited James Barrow when he was in prison," he added. "It turns out he was wanted for another robbery and murder up in Luzerne County."
Smith has now been charged with murder, robbery and conspiracy.
Both Smith and Barrow have a preliminary hearing scheduled for next week.