Philadelphia Crimes: Blame The T-Shirts

It appears that, as we quickly approach fall, fine citizens of Philadelphia are finding new and exciting reasons to commit crimes.

Case in point: Uhh, where to we start? I think a charticle is in order.

• Here. Here’s a good starting point. Tyrone Spellman, 25, has been arrested and charged with murdering his 17-month-old daughter over a video game. This brings up so many questions — and not just “What game were they playing?” But it’s all answered by this one little paragraph:

“His confession was she pulled the cords in the game, the system is — the box itself — fell, and he was upset and then responsible for paying for the game, so he hit her in her face twice,” [mother Mia] Turman said, adding that Spellman also allegedly slung the child over a chair.

We’ll avoid the debate about whether losing your Madden save is worth killing over.

• Of course, sometimes the crimes aren’t so strange. They’re fairly normal. The pregnant woman who allegedly tried to buy crack has been released on $150 bail. (The same woman who also pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter of her son in 2002.)

Here’s the kicker of the NBC 10 report: “City cops see mothers-to-be involved with drugs frequently.” Oh, goodie.

Police: Pregnant, Crack-Carrying Mom Let Off The Hook [NBC 10]
Mother: Father Killed Child Over Video Game [NBC 10]