Darnell Coley, a 24-year-old Black/African American man from Chester, Pennsylvania, was killed on the night of January 13, 2017, in a shooting inside a home on the 3300 block of West 3rd Street. Police were called to the residence shortly after 9:00 p.m., and when officers arrived, they were met by Coley’s mother. She told them her son had been shot and led them inside, where he was found on the steps in the family room suffering from multiple apparent gunshot wounds.
The scene
unfolded as a sudden, intimate tragedy inside a family home rather than out on a street corner. Medics attempted to treat Coley at the scene, but his injuries were too severe. He was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m. Authorities said the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office would conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death, though early reports described the case as a fatal shooting.
Chester police and detectives from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office opened an investigation into the killing. Early public reports did not describe a motive, did not identify a suspect, and did not say whether anyone had been seen fleeing the home or the area. Police characterized the case as an active homicide investigation and asked anyone with information to contact investigators.
Available online reporting from the time does not show a confirmed arrest, suspect identification, trial, conviction, or formal charges tied to Coley’s death. Public reports stated that police were looking for his killer and seeking help from the community, but no reliable online news source found confirms that the case was solved.
