In the crisp autumn air of a November evening in North Philadelphia, a tragedy unfolded that cut short the life of 56-year-old Constance Marshall. On Thursday, November 4, 2021, she and a companion, 31-year-old Irene McNair, were inside what authorities described as an illegal speakeasy operating out of an abandoned church on the 1900 block of Ridge Avenue.
It was there that their lives were abruptly and violently ended.
Around 7:45 p.m., a gunman fired multiple shots from the sidewalk into the building. Investigators believe the door may have been partially open, allowing the bullets to strike both women who were just inside. When police responded to reports of a person with a gun, they found both Marshall and McNair suffering from gunshot wounds. Paramedics arrived at the scene, but sadly, both women were pronounced dead from their injuries.
The building, which had previously been a church, had been the subject of complaints to the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections for operating as an illegal drinking establishment. Officials had even taken action to shut it down the month prior to the fatal shooting. Inside the speakeasy, police found a generator in operation and coolers filled with alcoholic beverages. A man who was also present at the time of the shooting and was believed to have been running the establishment remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.
In the days following the shooting, family and friends of the two women gathered for a vigil, releasing balloons in their memory. Reports suggested that an altercation involving Marshall may have occurred at a nearby laundromat shortly before the shooting. It was said that McNair had attempted to de-escalate the situation and the two women then moved to the adjacent speakeasy, where the shooter apparently followed and killed them. Despite the investigation and witness interviews, no arrests have been made in the case. The Philadelphia Police Department's homicide unit continues to seek information from the public regarding the unsolved murders of Constance Marshall and Irene McNair.
