PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Philadelphia man is in custody after a gruesome murder in Bensalem. Police said Dominique Harris, 30, has been charged with criminal homicide and a related offense after the murder which happened about 24 hours before his arrest.
Police said that at around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, officers had been called to Bensalem Beer and Soda on Street Road near Hulmeville Road after a report of bloodstains and personal items in the parking lot.
Investigators on scene looked at surveillance video taken at about 1:40 a.m. that morning.
They said the video showed a man getting chased down and stabbed several dozen times before the suspect ran away, came back with a car, and then ran over the victim at least twice.
According to police, the suspect then picked up the victim, put him in the back seat of his vehicle, and drove away.
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"I've viewed this video and it is horrific,” said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub. “It shocks your conscience to see that one person could brutalize another human being in this way."
Michael Pickens, 54 from Bensalem, was identified as the victim. Investigators said he was taking out the trash at his workplace, a nearby Wendy's, when he was chased down.
Weintraub said that Harris was recently fired from the same Wendy’s after a harassment incident involving Pickens.
At about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, Philadelphia police found Harris’ car at the corner of Broad Street and Hunting Park Avenue in North Philadelphia’s Hunting Park neighborhood.
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Officers pulled him over and they said they saw blood in the backseat and a large cut on Harris' right hand, but no sign of Pickens.
At around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Bensalem Police found Pickens’ body near the Cornwells Train Station Park and Ride.
Harris has been arrested and is being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility with no bail.
Police ask you to call them at 215-633-3719 with any information you may have about the case, or offer an anonymous tip on the Bensalem Police Crime Watch page.
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