INVESTIGATION INTERVIEW RECORD - PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPT.
                                                                          HOMICIDE DIVISION

Case # H-91-380
Interveiwer:  Detective W. Danks # 816

Name:  Zahra Howard
Age   : 17
Student, 10th grade

Place of Interview:  Homicide Division
Time: 4:30 pm
We are questioning you concerning:  The shooting death of Chedell Williams

Q-Zahra, are you known by any other name ?
A-No.
Q-How did you know Chedell Williams ?
A-School.  She's my best friend, I've known her for two years.
Q-And you were with her today when she was shot ?
A-Yes.
Q-Now, what I'd like you to do is go on in your own words and tell me as best as you remember, everything that happened today at 10th and Nedro.
A-We were on the 70 bus.  We caught it at 5th and Godfrey and took it to Fern Rock.  It was just me and Chedell.  When we got off the bus at Fern Rock, and we walked together to the steps up to the cashiers booth, Chedell was going to buy a transpass and I was walking up to the cashiers with her.
Q-Where's the entrance and the steps located ?
A-On Nedro Avenue at 10th. Its the entrance to the subway and the cashier is up on the second level off the street.
Q-What happened as you went up the steps ?
A-There was a railing down the middle of the steps.  I started up on the left and Chedell was on the right.  We only went up about 2 steps and 2 guys were coming down.  One was on my side and one was on Chedell's side.  The guy on my side got about 3 steps from me and he said, "Give me your fucking earrings."  I really think he was talking to me because we was face to face and Chedell was on the other side.
Q-Did the other male, the one on Chedell's side, say anything ?
A-He didn't say nothing through the whole thing.
Q-What did you do when the male demanded your earrings?
A-I didn't see any gun, so we both turned and ran.  I ran to the fruit stand next to the entrance and I was just screaming.  I didn't say anything, was just yelling.  Chedell ran into the street, right into Nedro Ave.  She got about halfway across when the same guy that was in front of me on the steps, caught up to her.  She was trying to get away from him.  She was screaming.  He was grabbing at her up here. (indicating shoulder level on both sides).  I didn't see him take her earrings, but thats where his hands were.
Q-Could you see a gun in his hand while he was grabbing at her?
A-Yes, I think it was this hand right here. (indicating right hand)
Q-So, when he was grabbing at her shoulders and neck, he already had the gun in his hand?
A-Yeah.
Q-What happened next?
A-They was real close together.  He was like holding her with his left arm around her back and then he shot her.  His back was to me so I didn't actually see the shooting but I heard the shot. She screamed and fell right down to the ground.
Q-Did he bend down over her, go through her pockets, or snatch her earrings while she was on the ground?
A-No, he stayed up on his feet.
Q-Did he run?
A-Yes, he ran away from Chedell and stayed in the street up 10th street.
Q-Did he run with the other guy?
A-Yeah, the other guy was already across Nedro and up 10th street about a car length. He had crossed the street and was waiting up there while the other guy was robbing Chedell.
Q-What I'd like to do now, is talk about what they looked like.  First we'll talk about the male that confronted you on the steps and then robbed and shot Chedell, ok?
A-He's about 20, he's black, he was wearing a baseball type hat with some team on it.  I don't remember the team or the color.  He was wearing a red sweat suit and he had a black hood.  I think that whatever the hood was on was under the red sweat top like another sweat shirt.  He had on white sneakers.
Q-Did he have any facial hair?
A-I don't think he did.  He was brownskinned.
Q-Have you ever seen him before, anywhere?  School, a store, a dance, in your neighborhood, anywhere?
A-No, I have never seen him before.
Q-Can you describe the gun?
A-It was a gun like the police have, but it was silver.
Q-(Detective Danks shows Ms Howard a .38 S & W 2in revolver, silver in color)
A-Yes, just like that
Q-Did the male in the red still have the gun in his hand when he ran up 10th street?
A-I couldn't tell.
Q-Tell me about the other male, the one that came down the steps on Chedells' side.
A-He was the same age, taller than the guy in the red.  The guy in the red was as tall as you, or a little taller. (5'9 to 5'10).  The guy in the black jacket, this guy was a little taller than the one in the red.
Q-This second male had on a black jacket?
A-Yeah, black leather jacket.  Jeans.  I didn't notice the rest.  I mainly saw the guy in the red.  He was brown complected.
Q-Have you ever seen him before, anywhere?
A-No, I've never seen either one of them.
Q-When the male in the red was struggling with Chedell, where was the male in the black?
A-Kinda like a car length up 10th street.  He stayed off but he stayed and watched everything.  He waited after Chedell was shot and then he and the guy in the red ran off together up 10th street.  There was a car parked at the top of the hill. I saw it on the left side of the street and it was parked facing away.  They both ran to the car. I think the guy in the red went to the drivers' side, and the one in the black went to the passengers' side.
Q-Could you tell whether the guy in the red actually drove the car?
A-No, they was too far up, but he did get in on the drivers side.
Q-Did the car drive off?
A-Yeah, fast.  It went straight.  Thats all I could see. There's a hill after that.
Q-Did you go to help your friend?
A-Yeah, I went over to see her.
Q-Did she say anything to you?
A-No, she wasn't talking to anyone. After she was shot, she stopped screaming and was balled up, I could see blood coming from her mouth.
Q-Did she still have her earrings?
A-No. They were gone.  They weren't in the street.  He must have taken them with him.
Q-Can you describe Chedell's earrings for me?
A-They were gold. They had three twists, and hung straight down from her ears.  They would be worth probably a hundred dollars.
Q-And the car you saw, can you describe that for me?
A-Brown, thats all I saw. It was like shiny.  It was an old car, but it was shined up.  It was a medium sized car.
Q-And it was a car, as opposed to a van, or a station wagon?
A-Yeah, it was a car.
Q-From the beginning of this, did Chedell ever give you the impression that she knew either of these males ?  Did she call out a name or anything like that?
A- No. And we know most of the same people. I didn't know these guys.
Q-Zahra, with regard to the male in red, is there anything else disctinctive about him that you remember?
A-No, nothing at all.
Q-Did he have an earring in his ear, or his nose, a big nose, a scar, anything like that?
A-Not that I remember.
Q-How about the rest of his body or clothing? A gold chain, writing on his sweat suit , anything like that?
A-The sweat suit is all red, but it had white stripes, big stripes, down the sleeves.  I think it had little letters on the sleeve, I think it was the letters FT. it was corney looking.  There was no lettering on the jacket itself.  That was just red.
Q-Can you give me a distance of how far the second male was from the male in the red when he shot Chedell ? I know he was just up onto 10th but about how far was it?
A-About the distance in here.  (6 to 8 feet)
Q-Did you ever see the male with the black leather jacket do anything to Chedell or get near Chedell at any time?
A-No I didn't see that.  When Chedell was with the one in the red, the one in the black was on 10 th street about that distance, 8 feet away.  He did wait while the one in the red shot Chedell and then they ran up to the car together.