Stephanie Wiley, a 33-year-old Black female from Philadelphia, was found dead on December 17, 2015, inside a residence on the 2200 block of North Chadwick Street in North Philadelphia. Police officers responded to the property and discovered her on the first floor, where her body had been covered with carpeting. The Medical Examiner’s Office pronounced her deceased at the scene, and the cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma.
Before Stephanie was found, her family had already begun to fear something was terribly wrong. Her sister, Felicia Wiley, said Stephanie was normally very active on Facebook and posted every day, so when that activity suddenly stopped, it stood out immediately. For about six weeks, her loved ones did not know where she was. They kept asking what had happened and where she could be, until the discovery inside the North Chadwick Street property confirmed their worst fears.
In the days after her body was found, family and friends gathered for a Christmas Eve vigil in North Philadelphia. They prayed for Stephanie and pleaded for anyone who knew what happened to come forward. Early reporting said police were still investigating the discovery and had not yet released a cause of death, but the case was later classified as a homicide after the blunt force trauma determination.
Felicia described Stephanie as outgoing, outspoken, and loved by the people around her. She also said that none of Stephanie’s belongings appeared to have been taken, and that her things were dumped where she was found. Felicia believed Stephanie’s living situation may have been connected to the killing, saying Stephanie had been living in a rooming house with men and did not like the traffic coming in and out of the home. According to Felicia, Stephanie had been trying to keep certain people out and had argued with them.
No public online source located reports that anyone has been arrested in Stephanie Wiley’s death. Philadelphia Police list the case as an unsolved murder, and another public homicide listing describes the case status as open with no arrest. Because no arrest has been publicly reported, there are also no publicly reported suspect names, charges, trial details, convictions, sentencing, or punishment connected to the case.
The City of Philadelphia offered a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Investigators continued urging anyone with information to contact Philadelphia Police or submit an anonymous tip, leaving Stephanie’s case in the hands of detectives and anyone who may still know what happened inside that North Philadelphia home.
