MURDER
CASE #: 1988-29
John Benjamin Simmons
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Summary:
John Simmons disappeared from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the fall of 1988. He was returning home from school when he was apparently abducted. Nearly five years passed before John’s skeletal remains were discovered in a Philadelphia area park. He had been shot to death and his case is considered a homicide. Sadly, no arrests have ever been made in John’s case.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
John was last seen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 14th 1988. He disappeared after attending his first day at George Washington Carver School of Engineering and Science where he was a sophomore. When his mother, Jacqui returned home from work, she noticed John had laid out a red and black track suit for his next day of classes but he was nowhere to be found. Jacqui waited up all night for him before reporting his disappearance to police who did not take his case seriously and wrote him off as a runaway. Neighborhood youths told Jacqui that they saw John getting into a jet black Cadillac with tinted windows at 49th and Locust Streets on the afternoon of his disappearance. The children saw the car speed off with him inside. It’s believed he was abducted by whoever was driving the vehicle but to date they’ve never been identified. Jacqui spent years seeking answers in her son’s disappearance. She wrote to various organizations and news agencies to get John’s name and photo circulated. She suspects local drug dealers abducted her son and she did what she could to raise awareness about youth drug use.
Additional Details:
On April 4th 1993, the skeletal remains of a teenage boy were found in Fairmont Park in Philadelphia. The victim had been shot once in the head and left on a hill just off Georges Hill Drive. Dental records identified the remains as belonging to John Simmons and a key found with the remains unlocked his home’s front door. Police believe John was abducted and murdered on the day of his disappearance. They have not publicly named any suspects in the case and no arrests have ever been made in connection with John’s death. Sadly, his murder remains unsolved.
Case Last Updated:
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