In the late hours of a Wednesday night in Norristown, Pennsylvania, a violent chain of events led to the tragic death of 26-year-old Marcel Edwin Edwards. On November 4, 2015, authorities responded to a call of a shooting at the Park Place Apartments on Sandy Street. Upon arrival, they discovered Edwards, a male of African American ethnicity from Philadelphia, deceased in a second-floor hallway. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation quickly revealed a second victim, 26-year-old Quentin Watson, Jr. of Eagleville, who was found in an adjacent apartment, also having been fatally shot multiple times. The grim discovery of the two men launched a joint investigation by the Norristown Police Department and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
The motive behind the double homicide was determined to be a jealous rage. The investigation revealed that both Marcel Edwin Edwards and another man, Obrian Stephen Lewis, 24, of Philadelphia, were in overlapping relationships with a woman who resided in the apartment where the killings occurred. In the hours leading up to the shooting, Lewis had reportedly called the woman, threatening her and calling her names.
Fueled by jealousy, Obrian Stephen Lewis broke into the apartment around 11 p.m. and opened fire, discharging at least 20 shots at Edwards and Watson. The woman, along with her 4-year-old son with Lewis, were present in the home at the time but were not physically harmed. After the shooting, Lewis located the woman hiding in a closet, dragged her out by her hair, and struck her in the head with his gun, telling her, 'You next,' before she managed to escape. A Norristown police officer arrived on the scene and confronted Lewis, who claimed he had been attacked and shot the two men. Lewis was taken into custody and the weapon, still hot from the numerous rounds fired, was recovered. He was subsequently charged with the murders of Marcel Edwin Edwards and Quentin Watson Jr.
