Keisha Furlow’s family gathered near the place where police say she was beaten, robbed and left to die.
PHILADELPHIA — Candles and flowers appeared beside a North Philadelphia alley after Keisha Furlow’s killing, creating a memorial for a mother of four as police arrested a man accused of attacking her with bricks and stealing her purse.
Furlow, 45, left behind four children, including an 11-month-old baby, according to relatives and local reports. Her family began arranging a funeral while Dawaun Lewis, 30, entered the criminal court system on charges of murder, robbery and related offenses. The speed of the arrest offered investigators an early breakthrough, but it did not answer the questions confronting those closest to Furlow. Police have not said whether she knew Lewis, why their paths crossed before 2 a.m. June 7 or whether another man mentioned in accounts of the attack took part in the violence.
Friends who gathered near the scene described a neighborhood they knew long before it became associated with evidence tape and television cameras. Family friend Alexis Stackhouse recalled growing up around the same blocks and having relatives nearby. “This is the community we all grew up in,” Stackhouse said. “To go away and come back and see this now, it’s sad.” Her remarks captured the change residents experienced after the killing. A familiar rear passage between homes had become both a homicide scene and the last place Furlow was seen alive. The candles placed there gave mourners a place to remember her without reducing her life to the violence described by police.
Officers found Furlow in the alley near the 2600 block of North 24th Street and North Opal Street shortly after the reported attack. She had suffered severe injuries to her face and body and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities determined that blunt force trauma caused her death. Police recovered two bloodied bricks close to her body and treated them as suspected weapons. The details quickly became part of public reports, but officials released much less information about Furlow herself. They did not provide a full account of where she had been earlier that night, whom she had spoken with or what plans she had for the following day.
That imbalance is common in the first days of a homicide investigation. Police disclose details that may help identify a suspect, locate witnesses or explain an arrest, while most of a victim’s life remains private. Furlow’s name appeared beside a list of injuries, objects and criminal charges. Her relatives instead emphasized that she was a mother whose death immediately affected four children. The age of her youngest child made the loss particularly stark. Family members had to manage grief while deciding how to care for the children, respond to news coverage and follow a court process that could continue for months or years.
Surveillance footage gave police what they described as a visual record of the attack. Investigators said a man approached Furlow while holding a brick, threw her down and struck her in the head. They said he then stomped on her face and chest. The attacker took her purse before leaving the alley, according to police. The complete recording has not been released, and authorities have not publicly described any words spoken between Furlow and the man. It remains unclear whether the encounter began as a robbery, an argument or something else. The public account moves quickly from the approach to the assault, leaving the beginning of the interaction unexplained.
Furlow’s purse was later found emptied several blocks from the scene. Police have not said what it contained or whether any missing items were recovered. For detectives, the purse represented physical evidence and a possible marker along the attacker’s route. For Furlow’s relatives, it added another painful detail to the final account of her life: after the beating, someone carried away her property and discarded the bag. Investigators may test it for fingerprints or DNA and compare its location with camera footage from nearby streets. No laboratory results have been announced, and officials have not said who found it.
Police released surveillance images of a man wanted for questioning on June 10, three days after Furlow’s death. The department asked the public to help identify him and warned residents not to approach him. The appeal referred to the city’s $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a homicide. Later that day, officers arrested Lewis in the 2100 block of Girard Avenue. Authorities identified him as the person shown in the police images. They have not said whether a caller recognized him, whether detectives located him through other records or whether he surrendered.
Lewis was charged with murder, robbery inflicting serious bodily injury, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and possessing an instrument of crime with intent. The charges describe the prosecution’s allegations, not a finding of guilt. Lewis is entitled to challenge the identification, the recordings, forensic evidence and witness accounts. No statement from him explaining the encounter had been made public. Court reports also did not identify an attorney speaking on his behalf when the arrest was announced. The case must proceed through hearings before it can reach a trial, plea or other resolution.
Those hearings may force Furlow’s family to hear the details repeatedly. A detective could describe how officers found her, where the bricks were located and what the video appeared to show. Prosecutors may introduce photographs, maps and portions of surveillance recordings to establish probable cause. Defense counsel can question witnesses and dispute conclusions drawn by police. Later proceedings could include arguments over whether graphic images or video should be shown to a jury. Judges often must balance the value of such evidence against the risk that it could create unfair prejudice. No public ruling on those issues had been reported.
A preliminary hearing was initially scheduled for June 29. Its purpose would be to decide whether prosecutors had enough evidence to continue the charges, not whether Lewis was guilty. The hearing could be postponed if lawyers needed more time to review evidence, obtain laboratory reports or arrange for witnesses. Public reports did not confirm whether it occurred on the original date. The court had not announced a trial date. Each delay or scheduling change can extend the period in which a victim’s family waits for a fuller account and a final decision.
The second man mentioned by police remains another source of uncertainty. Authorities have not released his name, photograph or alleged actions. They have not said whether he entered the alley, knew Lewis, handled the purse or witnessed the attack. A person can be present near a crime without participating in it, and police have not publicly accused the unidentified man of a specific offense. Detectives may still be reviewing video, phone records and interviews to determine his role. Furlow’s relatives therefore face a prosecution with one defendant while part of the scene remains unexplained.
Residents who attended the memorial also confronted the wider effect of the killing on the block. Rear alleys are ordinary features of many Philadelphia neighborhoods, used to reach yards, garages and utility areas. After Furlow’s death, this one carried a different meaning. People walking nearby encountered flowers, candles and reminders of the assault. Some had known Furlow, while others knew only what police and television reports described. Their gathering showed how a homicide can move outward from one family and alter the way neighbors see a familiar place.
The criminal case will focus on evidence, intent and legal responsibility. Furlow’s family must live with consequences that do not fit neatly into a court count. Her children lost a parent. Relatives took on new duties. Friends returned to a neighborhood memorial to speak her name. Those facts will not determine whether prosecutors prove the charges, but they explain why the case carries weight beyond the identity of the accused and the contents of an abandoned purse.
Police say they have identified the person who carried out the attack, recovered the suspected weapons and established that Furlow was robbed. The defense has not yet presented its account, and investigators have not resolved every person’s role. As the case moves through court, the candles in the alley remain the clearest public sign of what cannot be restored: Furlow’s place in the lives of her four children.
Author note: Last updated July 12, 2026.