Center City man's death ruled as homicide

The death of a man found in his Center City home has been ruled a homicide.

The murder victim was found last week in his rowhome on the 100 block of Mole Street, but investigators made the ruling Monday after the results of an autopsy.

The body of 65-year-old Lee Stanley was discovered in the living room by workers who came to the house around midday Friday.

Police called the death suspicious. An autopsy revealed Stanley had been killed by blunt force trauma to his chest.

Neighbor Eddie Stites tells us, "Yeah, I was pretty bummed out about that, especially something like that happening on my street - Center City, ya know. Something like this doesn't happen every day around here."

Police called Stanley a collector of just about everything - coins, cards, newspapers. And the rowhome was filled with his acquired possessions.

He lived alone for years - no visitors, no family.

Some thought he was odd, while others found him friendly.

Frank Emilio says, "He had autistic spectrum disorder. He, like, knew every statistic of ... everything ever, but he, you know, wasn't very social."

Stites says, "One of the nicest guys ... I ever had the privilege of knowing on the street."

Police said there were no signs of forced entry and no indication anything was missing. There was a fire extinguisher found near his body, but it's not clear if that's what was used to strike the fatal blow that killed him.

Neighborhood resident Walter Wilkerson tells us, "I definitely used to think it was safe living here, but now I don't feel like that safe."

A police source said a healthy male may have survived the blow to the chest, but Stanley had a heart condition and the trauma to his chest proved to be fatal.

The tiny street is surrounded by medical and municipal buildings as well as businesses. Police have been out checking to see if anything was captured on surveillance cameras.