Two suspected homicides a few days apart in Reading have investigators working in overdrive in the final days of 2025.
In one, police haven’t determined the identity of the deceased person or his killer. In the other, they know the identity of the shooter but not the person he killed.
“Both of these investigations remain open and very active,” Berks County District Attorney John T. Adams said Tuesday.
On Christmas Day, Tristan Hightower, 41, was found dead in a row house in the 300 block of West Greenwich Street. An autopsy was performed, but the pathologist needed further studies before ruling on the cause and manner of death, Adams said.
“We expect to hear in the near future a determination on the cause of death,” he said.
The building was operated as a rooming house, a home designed for single-family residency in which rooms are rented to strangers, Adams said.
A different rooming house in the city was the scene of a homicide on Monday.
It happened about 2 a.m. in the 400 block of South Ninth Street. The shooter, who was not in custody, told police that he had shot another male in in self-defense, Adams said.
A decision has yet to be made on whether any criminal charges will be filed in that case.
“He claimed it was a matter of self-defense,” the district attorney said. “However, we are continuing to investigate that.”
Anyone with information in either killing is asked to call Reading police at 610-655-6116.
Tips can be made via Crime Alert Berks County’s anonymous tip line, 877-373-9913. Tips can also be sent via text, using the keyword “alert berks,” to 847411. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward for information that helps solve a case