Less than a year after a Wilmington man was found dead near a cemetery in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his hands bound behind his back, a federal grand jury has indicted one of the people police say is responsible.
Kimon Burton-Roberson, 28, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to kidnapping and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in connection with the victim’s July homicide.
Federal prosecutors have not identified the victim, citing a federal law regarding victims’ rights and “the right to be treated with fairness and with respect for the victim’s dignity and privacy,” wrote U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman Kim Reeves.
According to the late February indictment, just before 1 a.m. on July 21, Burton-Roberson and his co-conspirators, whom prosecutors did not identify, broke into a home in Wilmington where they knew the victim was staying.
BACKGROUND:Body of man kidnapped from Wilmington found with hands bound in Delaware County, Pa.: Police
There, they beat the man with a “blunt object” until he was bleeding. Then, prosecutors said, they bound the victim’s hands with zip ties and forced him into Burton-Roberson’s Jeep Cherokee.
From there, they drove him to a home in Philadelphia associated with Burton-Roberson, and one of the suspects shot the victim in the head, prosecutors said. They then took him to the 6200 block of Baltimore Ave., near Fernwood Cemetery in Yeadon, and left his body there, prosecutors said.
He was found just before 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of a warehouse.
Evidence markers could be seen on the ground where detectives investigated, and police told Delaware Online/The News Journal at the time that warehouse surveillance footage captured a car in the area at the time of the slaying.
Wilmington police also confirmed to a reporter that they were working alongside Yeadon police on the case.
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On Friday, Wilmington Police Chief Robert Tracy called the homi “chilling,” adding that he was “proud of the work of our investigators, and our partner law enforcement agencies, in bringing justice for the victim.”
The FBI worked with Yeadon and Wilmington police on the case, federal prosecutors said.
It’s unclear whether the other people accused of working with Burton-Roberson have been charged.
This is a developing story. Return to delawareonline.com for updates.
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