New details emerged Monday about the fatal stabbing of 93-year-old Lafayette Dailey, as prosecutors announced murder charges against the suspect in the case.
Dailey’s body was discovered Dec. 5 inside his home on the 4500 block of N. 16th Street in Logan, though authorities now believe he was killed two days earlier. The elderly man had been stabbed several times in the chest and suffered head trauma, according to law enforcement officials.
Investigators uncovered records showing that Coy Thomas – the 53-year-old Germantown man apprehended Sunday in connection with the homicide – previously lived on the block, including in a property next door to Dailey's home, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Metro.
“We do at least have an indication that they did somewhat know each other in a neighborly way,” Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski told reporters at a news conference.
Surveillance footage shows Thomas walking up to Dailey’s porch Dec. 3 and leaving the house on the same day, officials said. Less than 20 minutes later, he is captured getting into the elderly man’s sedan and driving away, according to authorities. There were no signs of forced entry, Toczylowski added.
The District Attorney’s Office said detectives recovered the car, a Chrysler 300, Dec. 9 on the 2500 block of W. Hagert Street in North Philadelphia.
A man reported that he had purchased the vehicle Dec. 5 for $900 from someone he knew as "Stoney," according to the affidavit. Stoney, who investigators believe is Thomas, offered the sedan for sale to patrons of a Germantown barbershop, authorities allege.
Dailey’s wallet was taken from the scene, and prosecutors allege that Thomas tried multiple times to use the victim’s debit card.
Thomas has been charged with criminal homicide, robbery, theft and related crimes. He is being held without bail, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 29. The Defender Association, which is representing Thomas, did not respond to a request for comment.
Dailey, a military veteran, was a regular at the West Oak Lane Senior Center, and friends alerted his relatives when he did not show up for a couple of days, according to Toczylowski. His family visited the house and found his body, she added.
A viewing and service for Dailey is scheduled for the morning of Thursday, Dec. 18, at Deliverance Evangelistic Church in North Philadelphia, according to a post on the website for Jason Lloyd Funeral Home.
