A 2005 Yeadon murder is the subject of Nether Providence Police Chief David M. Splain’s first book, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.
“Blood on the Trolley: The Murder of Kareem Johnson” goes inside the investigation that leads to the identity, capture, conviction, and litigation of the killer.
In early October 2005, a rider on the Route 13 trolley to Darby suddenly got up and stabbed Kareem Johnson, 19, multiple times.
The attacker pushed Johnson out the back door, gathered his belongings, and ran out the same door.
Splain, a Yeadon detective sergeant at the time, was the lead investigator on the case.
In the book, Splain stresses the importance of patience.
“Like many investigations, this one also involved timing and luck: the right person recognized the individual depicted in the sketch and came forward,” Splain said. “The case relied on witness testimony, traditional investigative techniques, and forensic work rather than on video [surveillance].”
The perpetrator, who was only 17, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, then to 20 years after the Supreme Court determined his sentence violated the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment..
Read more about the case and the role that Chief Splain and his daughter ultimately played in the case in the Daily Times.
