Nicole Newell, 43, was found fatally shot inside an apartment on the 9400 block of East Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia on January 22, 2021. She and 59-year-old Mark Ruff were discovered unresponsive with gunshot wounds; emergency personnel pronounced both dead at the scene.

Authorities arrested 30-year-old Donald Tillman on March 8, 2021, charging him with murder, burglary, and related offenses in connection with the deaths of Newell and Ruff. Investigators linked Tillman to the two killings through ballistic evidence showing the same handgun was used, surveillance footage that captured him wearing Ruff’s U.S. Army jacket which had been missing from the apartment, and a cell phone belonging to Tillman that was found at the scene. The motive has not been established and the case was pending trial as of the last report.

If anyone knew Nicole Newell or has information about the events around January 20–22, 2021, please come forward to the Philadelphia Police or the District Attorney’s Office.