Bar dispute led to fatal shootings at Fairmount Park last month, police say

The man and woman who were fatally shot "execution style" in Fairmount Park on Feb. 29 were involved in a bar disagreement earlier that night with the two people charged in their deaths, Philadelphia police said Thursday. 

Thurston Cooper, 49, and Krystina Chambers, 38, who were fatally shot near the historic Mount Pleasant Mansion, were at Tellup's Tavern, at 1322 W. Olney Ave., on the night of their deaths. At some point, police said, they got into an argument with Lamar Young, 52, and Dale Johnson, 56, who have been charged with murder, conspiracy and related offenses.

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All four frequented the bar and knew each other before the night of the shooting, police said. The specifics of their dispute remain under investigation.

"I think there was contact between Cooper and Johnson that Young was not happy about," Chief Inspector Christopher Werner said at a press conference Thursday.

The dispute appeared to have been resolved at the bar, where drinks were purchased and tensions seemed to settle, according to investigators.

Around 9:40 p.m., surveillance video from the bar shows all four people leaving in a Kia Sportage driven by Johnson. There were no apparent signs that Cooper and Chambers had been coerced. They were offered a ride by Johnson and Young instead of taking an Uber, authorities said.

"It appears that they willingly got into the car," Werner said. "I can imagine that the end point was not that park, but I don't know what was told to them to get to that park. I believe that they were told they were going to be taken to a different location and they were driven to the park."

Surveillance video shows the Kia near the shooting scene around 10 p.m. Police said the footage they recovered was too grainy to capture the shooting. A 911 call was placed by a driver who passed through the area within an hour of the shootings and spotted the bodies.

Cooper had been shot once in the head. Chambers had gunshot wounds in the head and chest, police said.

Young surrendered to authorities last week after police released photos of him that were taken at Tellup's Tavern on the night of the shooting. Johnson was brought in for questioning and released before police developed evidence to arrest her Wednesday. 

Police did not share details about weapons used in the shootings. Young is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. Johnson had a permit to carry a gun,  authorities said. 

There are no other suspects in the case, police said. Werner declined to comment about whether Young and Johnson are cooperating with investigators, but said the dispute that took place should not have ended the way it did. 

"It's really a senseless crime, quite frankly," Werner said.