PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities in Philadelphia said Friday that they are no closer to locating a missing 23-year-old woman who disappeared from her nursing home job nearly two weeks ago, urging residents to come forward with even the smallest of potential clues.
District Attorney Larry Krasner used an afternoon news conference to lament “systemic issues” that he said led to 21-year-old Keon King, the man arrested and charged with kidnapping, stalking and other charges in the disappearance of Kada Scott, to go free after being charged in a similar case earlier this year.
“There is no doubt that there’s a list of people in this office, outside of this office — and, no, it doesn’t matter who they are — but there’s a list of people who made a lot of good decisions and a couple decisions that could have been made better,” he said.
Krasner pointed, in part, to the cash bail system. He said that prosecutors sought bail of just under $1 million in the earlier case but that the judge set the amount at $200,000 — which King was able to pay.
That meant his accuser would have had to come to the courthouse and testify “knowing that the defendant will walk out the same door she came in.” That reality likely deterred her from testifying against King, he said, which resulted in the charges being dropped. Since Scott disappeared on Oct. 4, charges in the earlier case have been refiled.
In the Scott case, King’s bail has been set at $2.5 million and he remains in custody. Krasner urged any other women he has victimized to come forward now with their stories — promising that they will be kept safe.
Police have found a damaged car they believe King was driving at the time of Scott’s disappearance and other evidence linking him to the missing woman. Authorities also say King was the last person in contact with Scott, but Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said Friday that investigators are no closer to locating her or determining what happened to her.
King has a preliminary hearing in the Scott case on Nov. 3. A message was left seeking comment for a lawyer listed as his defense attorney.
