Authorities confirmed that the human remains found at an abandoned middle school in Philadelphia over the weekend belong to Kada Scott, the 23-year-old woman who has been missing since early October.
Police announced that they found a woman’s remains Saturday following a detailed tip in their investigation into Scott’s disappearance. Her identity was confirmed through DNA testing, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a Monday news conference.
“This is an ever-evolving, developing situation, both in terms of investigation and prosecution,” Krasner said. “There are things that we know today that we cannot tell you and we cannot tell you for a variety of reasons.”
Krasner said that new evidence was also discovered that will lead to new charges against the suspect in her disappearance, with potentially more to come.
A cause of death was not released at Monday’s news conference.
Officials read a statement from her parents thanking the public for their support. They also asked for privacy as they processed the “heartbreaking events of the past few weeks.”
“Your compassion, love and strength have carried us when we cannot carry ourselves. Kada was deeply, deeply loved,” the statement said. “Her light, kindness and beautiful spirit will forever remain in our hearts.”
The family asked the public to “honor Kada’s memory by showing kindness and care to one another, just as she did every day of her life, with love, strength, and gratitude.”
She doesn’t return home
Scott, who graduated from Penn State University in 2023 with a degree in communications, had been living with her mother, her father, Kevin Scott, previously told NBC’s “Dateline.”
The night of Oct. 4, her father said, she had been to dinner with friends and returned home to borrow her mother’s car before going to work at an assisted living facility called The Terrace at Chestnut Hill. Her shift was from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., he said.
Her mother called her father the next morning, asking if he had heard from Scott. They tried to call their daughter, to no avail.
“She always has her phone with her — normally always charged,” he said. “To have the phone totally off, go straight to voicemail, and no texts responding — that’s definitely strange behavior for Kada.”
Scott’s mother called her work and learned that she had left early, and no one had seen her since about 10:30 p.m., her father said. The family filed a missing person report.
The car that Scott drove to work was found by police in the employee parking lot, but without Scott’s personal belongings, her father said.
Police later said they received a tip about evidence found outside of Ada H. Lewis Middle School, an abandoned school. Investigators found what were believed to be Scott’s personal belongings, including a card with her name on it and an iPhone case.
Another tip an official described as “very specific” led police to search the wooded area around the school. That was where the remains were found.
Suspect has prior kidnapping allegations
Family and friends had alerted police that unknown individuals had allegedly been harassing Scott on the phone in the days prior to her disappearance.
An analysis of her cellphone data led police to a 21-year-old man named Keon King, who authorities said was in communication with Scott. Police did not provide details as to what kind of communications King and Scott shared.
Frank Vanore, a deputy commissioner with the Philadelphia Police Department, said King appeared to meet Scott at her place of work and that Scott disappeared shortly after that.
Investigators also found a 1999 gold Toyota Camry that they believe is connected with King and is going through forensic processing, police said.
King turned himself in Oct. 14 and has since been charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, stalking, criminal use of communication facility, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with evidence. He has not yet entered a plea on the charges.
An attorney for King was not immediately available for a request for comment Monday afternoon.
Another kidnapping case King was allegedly involved with earlier this year has been reopened as a result of the Scott case, according to Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski. King was accused of kidnapping and strangulation, but Toczylowski said the charges were dropped after the victim failed to appear in court.
In that case, King allegedly kidnapped a woman, assaulted her and let her out of his car while his 2-year-old child was in the back seat, NBC Philadelphia reported. Investigators identified King as the man in a video posted to TikTok earlier that day by the alleged victim, showing a man hopping a fence to peer into a North Philadelphia home.
The woman recording the incident then tells another woman in the home to call police, according to the video.
Later that day, when the alleged victim and the eyewitness stepped out of the home, King allegedly grabbed the victim and put her in the car, Toczylowski told NBC Philadelphia.
On Monday, Toczylowski announced that she was seeking new charges against King based on new evidence discovered in the course of the investigation.
New video allegedly shows King using a stolen 2008 Hyundai Accent that was found burning in a junkyard. Investigators believe King used this vehicle to move Scott to the abandoned school where her body was found.
Additional charges are expected be filed in connection with the vehicle, including arson causing catastrophe, conspiracy, unauthorized use of an automobile, tampering with evidence, recklessly endangering another person and receipt of stolen property.
Cellphone records also allegedly place King’s mobile device at all the relevant locations in the case, Toczylowski said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com