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Two girls, aged 13 and 14, are the latest young people to surrender to police in connection to the caught-on-camera deadly beating of a 73-year-old man with a traffic cone in North Philadelphia last month.
The older teen turned herself into the Philadelphia Police Department's Homicide Unit around 11 a.m. Wednesday, police said. The 13-year-old turned herself in later, said her attorney, Donte Mills.
The 13-year-old was later released from police headquarters. Mills claims the girl did not actually attack the victim.
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The 14-year-old girl is charged with third-degree murder in the June 24 beating death of James Lambert along Cecil B. Moore Avenue, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said.
The girls turning themselves in came a day after a 14-year-old boy was charged with murder and criminal conspiracy after police said he and a group of other youths beat Lambert to death in an attack using a traffic cone and other items. That boy had turned himself in along with his 10-year-old brother on Monday.
"No one else has been charged in connection with this crime at this time, although that may change given the ongoing nature of this investigation," the DA's office said in a written statement. "DA Krasner and everyone at the DAO express our condolences to Mr. Lambert's family, friends, and community over his shocking and tragic death."
Mills called on the district attorney's office and police investigators to review the surveillance video of the attack. Not only did the 13-year-old not attack the victim, but she actually tried to stop the beating, called 911 when Lambert fell to the ground and stayed with him until first responders arrived, Mills said.
“I think this is an important moment for us because we can realize that there’s still hope in this city, that there’ still good in this city amongst our youth and there’s those that’s courageous enough to stand up even when all of their friends are doing things that they’re not supposed to do and say, ‘I’m not going to participate in that.,'" the attorney said. "So my hope is that she’s not punished for doing the right thing.”
Mills said that before the cone was used as a weapon, someone in the group of youths hit Lambert with a comb. His client tried to grab the comb in an attempt to stop the attack, he said.
When some used a traffic cone to hit Lambert, the girl tried to knock it out of their hands, Mills said, adding that his client never made physical contact with the victim during the ordeal.
While some have tried to paint Philadelphia's children with a broad brush and labeled them "bad" and "ruined," his client proves that that is not the case, Mills said.
“There’s good people here. There’s hope here for this city," he said.
Philadelphia Police late last week released surveillance video that shows the attack and announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to arrests of the young people involved.
Lambert was walking across Cecil B. Moore Avenue near North 21st Street around 2:38 a.m. when he was ambushed, Philadelphia police said.
Sources told NBC10 that Lambert was walking past some basketball court when he questioned why the young people were out so late. That's when Lambert was attacked with food, fists and the traffic cone.
"It's so evil, how could you do that to a person?" Elsie Stephens, the victim's older sister told NBC10 soon after the video was released. "You have a mother and a father, how could you just beat a man until you take off half of his skull?" she added.
Last week, the PPD released video on YouTube that shows the deadly attack on the 73-year-old. They said those responsible appeared to be three girls and four boys believed to be in their early-to-mid teens.
The first young person to attack Lambert can be seen on video striking the man -- who is blurred in the video -- with a traffic cone as he walked away from the group to the other side of the street. A short time later, another young person can be seen picking up a cone and throwing it at the man.
Lambert then moves along the sidewalk and is chased down by a young person holding a cone over her head.
"The teens struck the victim several times with objects, knocking the victim to the ground causing injuries to his head," police said in an online post. "The victim was transported to the hospital where he died of his injuries the following day."
The video shows the young people leaving the site of the attack. One even hopped on a scooter and appeared to be talking with another young person walking alongside him in the moments after the attack. A young person is also seen running down the sidewalk.
Later, the young people appear to have gathered again. One teen is then seen acting out what appears to be a stumbling person.
"Even I can't comprehend that teenagers would beat an old person in the street for no apparent reason," said Tania Stephens, Lambert's niece.
The city offered a $20,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this homicide, as they do with any unsolved killing in Philadelphia.
Lambert’s family has urged those responsible to turn themselves in to police.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to submit tips (which can be anonymous) by phone or text to 215-686-8477 or online.
To date, there have been 289 homicides in Philadelphia in 2022, according to police data. That's down just 2% from the same time last year, which ended up being the deadliest year on record.
