Investigators linked recordings, two bloodied bricks and an emptied purse to the fatal attack on Keisha Furlow.

PHILADELPHIA — Police arrested Dawaun Lewis three days after Keisha Furlow was beaten to death in a North Philadelphia alley, ending a rapid search built around surveillance images, suspected weapons and a purse recovered several blocks from her body.

Lewis, 30, faces charges of murder, robbery inflicting serious bodily injury, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and possessing an instrument of crime with intent. Police allege that he attacked Furlow, a 45-year-old mother of four, shortly before 2 a.m. June 7, then fled with her purse. The charges remain allegations, and Lewis is presumed innocent unless convicted. Authorities have also referred to another man in connection with the episode, but they have not publicly identified that person, explained his alleged role or announced a second arrest.

The investigation began after officers were sent to the area of the 2600 block of North 24th Street. They found Furlow in a rear alley near North Opal Street with severe injuries to her face and body. Emergency personnel pronounced her dead at the scene. Investigators later said she died from blunt force trauma. Two bricks with blood on them were recovered nearby, giving homicide detectives suspected weapons to examine as they documented the narrow passage, searched for witnesses and looked for cameras facing the surrounding blocks. Police did not disclose whether fingerprints, DNA or other forensic material had been recovered from the bricks. The objects nevertheless became an early part of the case because of their location and the injuries described by authorities.

Surveillance recordings provided detectives with a more direct account of the assault, police said. The footage appeared to show a man approach Furlow while carrying a brick, throw her to the ground and repeatedly strike her in the head. Investigators said the attacker then stomped on her face and chest. The man took Furlow’s purse and left the alley, according to police. Authorities have not released the complete recording or said whether one camera captured the entire encounter. They also have not disclosed whether Furlow and the attacker spoke, whether they knew each other or how long they were together before the violence began. Those details remain among the central unknowns in the case.

The discarded purse extended the crime scene beyond the alley. Police said it was found emptied several blocks away, suggesting that the person who took it moved through nearby streets before abandoning it. Detectives could compare the purse’s location with video from homes, businesses and intersections to reconstruct a route from the attack. They could also test the purse for biological material or fingerprints and search the surrounding area for missing contents. Officials have not said what Furlow had been carrying, whether money or identification was taken, or whether any of her belongings were recovered elsewhere. They have also not explained who found the purse or how soon it was located after officers discovered her body.

Investigators released images of a man wanted for questioning on June 10. The public notice identified Furlow and placed the homicide at about 1:59 a.m. June 7. Police warned residents not to approach the person shown and asked anyone with information to contact the department’s homicide unit. The notice also referred to Philadelphia’s standing $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in a homicide. Police have not said whether a tip generated by the photographs led directly to Lewis. They also have not disclosed whether detectives had already identified him before asking for public assistance. Later that day, officers took Lewis into custody in the 2100 block of Girard Avenue.

The arrest moved the case from an urgent search for a suspect into a longer process of testing the evidence. Detectives must preserve original surveillance files, record where each video came from and determine whether timestamps from separate camera systems are accurate. They must also document who collected the bricks, purse and other objects and how those items were stored. Those records allow prosecutors to establish that evidence presented in court is the same evidence recovered during the investigation. Defense attorneys may challenge the quality of the recordings, the reliability of an identification or the handling of physical evidence. No defense account of the encounter had been made public when police announced the charges.

The five counts against Lewis reflect separate parts of the prosecution’s theory. The murder charge concerns Furlow’s death. The robbery count alleges that property was taken through force that inflicted serious bodily injury. The theft and receiving-stolen-property charges concern control of property belonging to someone else. The instrument-of-crime charge alleges possession of an object with the intent to use it criminally. Prosecutors sometimes file several related counts early in a case while investigators continue collecting records and laboratory results. A judge can later decide whether the evidence supports each count, and some charges may be amended, dismissed or combined as the case advances.

A preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for June 29. At that proceeding, prosecutors would not be required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. They would need to present enough evidence for a judge to conclude that crimes probably occurred and that Lewis was probably involved. A detective could describe the condition of the alley, the surveillance footage, the suspected weapons and the recovered purse. The defense could question the witnesses and argue that the identification or other evidence is not strong enough to support some or all of the charges. Public reports did not establish whether the hearing occurred on the original date or was postponed. No trial date had been announced.

The reported presence of another man leaves a separate line of inquiry open. Authorities have not said whether that person entered the alley, touched Furlow’s property, participated in the attack or merely appeared on nearby footage. They have not described him as a defendant or released information showing that he committed a crime. Investigators could examine whether he arrived with the alleged attacker, left along the same route or communicated with anyone after the killing. Under Pennsylvania law, a person’s presence near a crime does not alone prove responsibility. Prosecutors would need evidence of intentional assistance or some other unlawful conduct before pursuing charges.

Furlow’s death also left a family confronting the loss of a mother whose youngest child was 11 months old, according to relatives and local reports. Friends and neighbors gathered near the alley with flowers, candles and written messages. Their memorial stood close to the place where detectives had placed evidence markers and collected the bricks. Family friend Alexis Stackhouse said the killing was especially painful because the surrounding streets were familiar to people who had grown up there. “This is the community we all grew up in,” Stackhouse said. Her comments shifted attention from the police photographs and court counts to the life affected by the attack.

The alley’s layout may have complicated the earliest moments of the investigation. Rear passages between rows of homes can be partly hidden from the main street, limiting the number of direct witnesses. At the same time, doorbell cameras, private security systems and business cameras can capture people approaching or leaving nearby blocks. Detectives commonly work outward from a homicide scene to collect recordings before older files are erased. Police have not said how many cameras contributed footage in this case or whether the public images came from the same system that recorded the alleged assault. They also have not disclosed whether clothing, shoes or other objects were recovered after Lewis’ arrest.

Questions about motive remain limited to the robbery allegations. Police said Furlow’s purse was taken, but they have not said whether the attacker approached her intending to steal it or decided to take it after the beating. They have not reported an earlier dispute, personal relationship or other conflict between Furlow and Lewis. Establishing the sequence could help prosecutors explain intent, while the defense may seek to challenge the interpretation of the video or offer a different account. Until evidence is presented in open court, the public description rests largely on police statements, surveillance images and the charges filed after Lewis’ arrest.

The case now has two active parts: the prosecution of Lewis and the continuing effort to account for every person and object connected to the alley. Police have recovered the suspected weapons and purse, identified one defendant and described video of the attack. The next public milestone will come through court proceedings or an announcement addressing the unidentified man and any additional forensic findings.

Author note: Last updated July 12, 2026.