On February 16, 2019, Maurese Kegler Jones, a 25-year-old Black / African American male from Darby, Pennsylvania, was fatally shot in what prosecutors described as an 'execution.' Jones was standing with a group of people outside 98 South Sixth Street in Darby Borough when a gunman singled him out, shooting him six times, with four of the bullets striking him in the head at close range.
Surveillance footage from a nearby firehouse and a corner store captured the incident, showing the assailant approaching Kegler Jones, opening fire, and then fleeing the scene. Three days after the shooting, authorities arrested 27-year-old Ronald Collins Jr. of Upper Darby as the primary suspect. At the time of his arrest, Collins was wearing a cream-colored thermal shirt that appeared similar to the one worn by the shooter in the surveillance video.
During the investigation, prosecutors suggested a possible motive for the killing, linking it to the December 2017 death of a man named Aaron Henderson. Video evidence showed Collins with Henderson's brother just hours before Kegler Jones was murdered. However, the defense team for Collins argued that there was a lack of physical evidence connecting their client to the crime scene. Despite the video evidence of the shooting, no DNA or gunshot residue was recovered from Collins's clothing.
Ronald Collins Jr. was brought to trial in 2019, facing charges of first- and third-degree murder. His defense attorney contended that the police investigation had 'tunnel vision' and failed to explore other potential suspects or motives in the case. After a trial, the jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning a verdict in March 2022, acquitting Collins of all charges. The acquittal left the murder of Maurese Kegler Jones officially unsolved.
