PHILADELPHIA — Investigators pleaded Tuesday for witnesses to come forward and searched for surveillance footage of the men who beat to death a former Warwick, N.Y., man they apparently thought was yelling at them — not at the taxi that wouldn't give him and his friends a lift in the city's historic district.
Police are seeking four suspects and offering a reward in the beating of Kevin Kless, 23, early Saturday after he shouted at a cab while he, his girlfriend and a female friend looked for a ride after leaving a bar, authorities said. Three men got out of a car behind the cab and started kicking and punching Kless, who fell to the sidewalk severely injured.
The three men and the driver of the car drove off.
Kless was pronounced dead at a hospital several hours later.
Investigators were still looking for the four men Tuesday and trying to get more information on the brutal attack, Officer Christine O'Brien, a police spokeswoman, said.
Police also are seeking the driver of the car, believed to be a maroon sedan.
Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman, said officers were re-interviewing Kless' companions, whose identities were not disclosed, and are trying to find other pedestrians who may have been around at the time.
They are looking for any good surveillance video of the attack, which might have been caught by cameras at stores or other businesses nearby. The attack took place near the historic Second Bank of the United States, not far from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, in an area home to many bars and restaurants that are popular hangouts for young adults.
"We're just pleading with anybody," Little said. "Any leads at this point would be helpful."
In an email sent to friends and family, Kless' mother, Kendall Kless, of Warwick, said she received a call from Philadelphia police in the early morning hours informing her of the assault on her son. She threw on clothes and took off to the hospital where he'd been taken. Her youngest son never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead at 7:10 p.m. Saturday, relayed his mom.
More than 20 friends and family members joined Kendall Kless at Kevin's bedside throughout the day. At the hospital, Kevin's friends "had us laughing with their stories, and each one of them said what he meant to them," Kendall Kless wrote.
"I'd like to believe that he knew we were there, that he felt how loved he was," she wrote. "I'm holding that thought."
She stayed at the hospital until 2 a.m. Sunday, as Kevin's organs were to be donated and the hospital was locating recipients. She said she left once hospital personnel were close to beginning the transplant process.
Read more: http://www.njherald.com/story/16537136/four-sought-in-beating-death-of-former-warwick-ny-man
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