Billy Schmidt’s family remembers a loyal, good-humored college senior as two teenagers face murder charges in his death.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — William “Billy” Schmidt was preparing to finish college and begin a sports media career when he was shot during an apparent robbery across from his South Philadelphia home, leaving his family to measure a future that ended at age 22.
Schmidt expected to graduate from Penn State in December after studying digital journalism and media through the university’s World Campus. He hoped to work in sports broadcasting, according to his sister, and had discussed finding a job with the Philadelphia Eagles, according to his father. Instead, relatives spent the weeks after his June 6 death pressing for the arrest of two people recorded near the scene. Police eventually charged two 16-year-old boys with murder and related offenses.
Anna Schmidt described her brother as one of the nicest and most genuine people she knew, with a playful side that could make relatives and friends laugh. His obituary offered a similar portrait, saying he made time for others and brought encouragement and companionship into their lives. That personality, rather than the circumstances of his death, became the center of the family’s public remembrance. Schmidt had attended Roman Catholic High School, graduating in 2021, before continuing his education at Penn State. The high school said his kindness and character left a lasting mark on classmates. Penn State officials said the university was heartbroken and had reached out to his family after learning that he had been killed.
His final night began as an ordinary gathering built around basketball. Schmidt watched an NBA Finals game with friends at a local bar, his relatives said. He left after midnight and walked toward the family rowhome near 20th and Durfor streets. At about 1:30 a.m., two people confronted him on the 1900 block of Durfor Street. Police believe the encounter involved the theft of his cellphone. Recordings from neighboring homes captured voices and movement in the street. On one video, Schmidt could be heard asking for his phone. Moments later, a person turned toward him and fired a shot into his chest. Officers found him in the roadway and rushed him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m.
The killing occurred only steps from the home Schmidt shared with his father. The location made the family’s grief visible every time relatives opened the door or looked across the street. Neighbors placed flowers, candles and messages near the spot where he fell. Some had known him since childhood. Others recognized him as the young man who returned greetings, spent time with friends and moved through a neighborhood where generations of families live close together. “He was just a great kid,” Bill Schmidt said. “He never had a problem with anybody.” Officers from the local police district visited the house to express their sympathy as detectives gathered footage from cameras attached to surrounding homes.
Bill Schmidt said the recordings appeared to show that one person took his son’s phone while the other waited nearby. His son followed the person who had the device, he said, and another person then emerged and fired. Schmidt’s father later found the phone under a car and gave it to investigators. He said he was stunned that his son had chased after it. The footage did not publicly establish every detail of the encounter, and police initially stopped short of announcing a complete motive. Investigators nevertheless treated the case as an apparent robbery. They released images of two people, descriptions of their clothing and video showing their movements before and after the gunfire.
The family’s appeals became part of a search that lasted more than three weeks. Police focused attention on a gray hooded sweatshirt decorated with skull-and-crossbones images. Investigators said the two people discarded clothing after the shooting and later appeared in white T-shirts. They also said the shorter person fired the shot with his left hand. A $20,000 city reward was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and federal marshals joined the effort. Bill Schmidt repeatedly asked for both people to be found. “They need to pay,” he said, describing accountability as the only remaining outcome the family could seek through the justice system.
Police later identified the suspects as Kaiseem Smith and Azzubair Outen-Fleming, both 16. Arrest warrants were obtained after detectives reviewed neighborhood recordings and pursued leads developed during the investigation. Outen-Fleming was found July 1 at a distant relative’s home in Colorado Springs, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. Federal officers said he tried to deny his identity before he was taken into custody. He was placed in a youth detention center while awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania. Smith surrendered to Philadelphia police July 2, ending the manhunt. Authorities did not publicly explain how Outen-Fleming reached Colorado or how long he had been there.
The two teenagers face multiple counts, including murder, police said. Their arrests marked the beginning of a legal process rather than a finding of guilt. Prosecutors must establish what role each defendant allegedly played, who possessed the gun and whether the robbery and shooting were part of a shared plan. Investigators have said the shorter person seen in the footage was the shooter, but the full evidence has not been presented publicly. Court proceedings may also determine whether the teenagers remain in adult court or seek to have their cases transferred to the juvenile system. Pennsylvania permits certain homicide cases involving older teenagers to start in adult criminal court.
For Schmidt’s relatives, the charges cannot restore the milestones that had seemed close. He was months from graduation, and his education reflected his interest in telling stories about sports. His sister said he wanted a broadcasting career. His father recalled his interest in the Eagles, a team tied closely to the city where he grew up. Those plans placed him at the beginning of adult life, not at the end of it. Penn State described him as a fourth-semester student from Philadelphia. The university’s statement focused on his family, friends and classmates, a group spread between his home neighborhood, his former high school and his college community.
Roman Catholic High School remembered Schmidt as part of its class of 2021 and said his spirit remained part of the school’s brotherhood. The message joined condolences from neighbors who gathered outside the family home. One resident said the block had come together even though it was painful that a death had brought people into the street. The memorial became both a tribute and a sign of how close the violence came to the family’s daily life. The flowers stood across from the house, near parked cars and the cameras that had recorded parts of the encounter. For days, news crews, police officers and visitors moved through a place that usually served only as a residential block.
The recordings gave the public a limited view of Schmidt’s final moments but did not capture the whole of his life. His obituary said he embraced life with enthusiasm and cared deeply for the people around him. Friends and relatives described loyalty, humor and a willingness to offer support. Those accounts contrasted with the brief, violent sequence shown on surveillance footage. The public images lasted seconds: two people walking, a demand for a phone, movement around parked vehicles and a gunshot. The family’s memories covered 22 years, from childhood friendships on the block to high school and college, and to a career that relatives believed was beginning to take shape.
The court case will now proceed through formal appearances, evidence hearings and decisions about how each teenager will be prosecuted. Outen-Fleming must be returned from Colorado before his Philadelphia case can advance alongside Smith’s. Prosecutors may rely on video, witness accounts, physical evidence, cellphone information and other records gathered during the search. Authorities have not said whether a firearm was recovered or whether either teenager spoke to investigators. Defense lawyers will have an opportunity to challenge identifications, evidence collection and the state’s description of the encounter. No trial date had been announced in the latest public reports.
Questions also remain about what happened after the pair left Durfor Street. Police said clothing was discarded, suggesting an effort to change appearance, but officials have not explained where every item was recovered or whether forensic testing tied it to a particular person. Authorities have not disclosed who may have provided housing, transportation or other assistance during the weeks before the arrests. Those details could emerge in affidavits or testimony. Any person accused of helping after the killing would face a separate legal inquiry, but officials had not announced additional charges connected to the escape.
Bill Schmidt’s early demand was direct: Find the people responsible for his son’s death. The arrests answered that part of the family’s plea, though the larger case remained unresolved. Smith was in Philadelphia custody, and Outen-Fleming awaited transfer from Colorado. The next proceedings will test the evidence behind the murder charges while Schmidt’s family continues to mourn the graduation, career and adulthood he did not reach.
Author note: Last updated July 12, 2026.