Quadir Ford, 20, of Upper Darby Township, is charged with criminal homicide, first-degree murder, third-degree murder, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the killing of 51-year-old Michelle Fleming, according to court records. <\/p>\n
Upper Darby Township police were dispatched to the 4600 block of State Road in Drexel Hill for a report of a woman in cardiac arrest at 4:21 p.m. on Monday, May 4, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n
While officers were en route, Delaware County Emergency Services upgraded the call to a possible stabbing after another son of the victim was reportedly outside screaming that his mother was dead, investigators wrote in the affidavit. <\/p>\n
Responding officers found Fleming lying on her back on the kitchen floor suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to investigators. Emergency responders attempted life-saving measures, but Fleming was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m., the affidavit states. <\/p>\n
Upper Darby Township Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said Fleming had been stabbed 12 times in the chest.<\/p>\n
A witness told investigators he left the home for work around 8:30 a.m. while both Fleming and Ford remained inside the residence, according to the affidavit. When he returned home around 4:20 p.m., he found Fleming unresponsive on the kitchen floor and discovered her cellphone and black 2013 GMC Acadia were missing, court documents state. <\/p>\n
Using a phone locator application, the witness tracked Fleming\u2019s cellphone to the area of Baltimore Pike in Springfield Township, investigators said. Springfield Township police later stopped Fleming\u2019s GMC Acadia on West Sproul Road and identified Ford as the driver, according to the affidavit. <\/p>\n
During questioning, Ford admitted he killed his mother with a silver knife after the two had argued, according to investigators. He also told detectives he threw the knife, gloves, and a mask used during the homicide into a trash can behind the property, the affidavit states. <\/p>\n
Detectives later recovered a silver knife with blood on it and gray latex gloves from the trash can, according to court documents. <\/p>\n
Investigators also said Ford admitted to taking his mother\u2019s vehicle without permission and placing two cellphones inside the SUV before leaving the scene. <\/p>\n
Bernhardt told reporters police had prior contact with Ford, but said officers had never previously responded to a domestic incident involving him and Fleming. He also said Ford described their relationship as strained and accused the pair of being \u201cvery accusatory toward each other over the course of the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ford was denied bail during his preliminary arraignment before Magisterial District Judge Diane M. Holefelder on Tuesday, May 5, according to court records. <\/p>\n
He is being held at Delaware County Prison pending a preliminary hearing scheduled before Magisterial District Judge James Merkins on Tuesday, May 19, at 1 p.m., court records show.<\/p>\n