News

An entrance to Morris Park in West Philadelphia, where a body was found hanging from a tree in the woods on Sunday morning (Photo by Victor Fiorillo)

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Decomposed body hangs from a tree in the woods of Morris Park in West Philadelphia

A gloomy start to the week.

On Sunday, police reported finding a body hanging from a tree in Morris Park, a park on the western edge of the city that borders City Avenue and Montgomery County. In a statement, police described the body as “decomposed.” The body was found in a section of the park near 66th Street.

A neighbor who allegedly found the body on Sunday morning said she had already noticed a smell on Sunday a week ago that she thought was rotting flesh. And yesterday she decided to go and look for the source of the smell and made the surprising discovery in a wooded part of Morris Park.

At 9:50 a.m., paramedics pronounced the person dead. The Southwest Detectives Division of the Philadelphia Police Department is investigating.

On Monday morning, investigators said they had no further information about the Morris Park incident, including identifying characteristics such as age, gender or race, and whether the medical examiner had determined the manner of death to be murder or suicide.

Anyone with information can contact the Southwest Detectives Division at 215-686-3183.

Bomb threat leads to cancellation of concert in French Montana

Moroccan-born rapper French Montana was supposed to end his “Gotta See It to Believe It” tour in Philadelphia on Sunday night with a concert at the Fillmore. However, the French Montana concert did not take place. According to a report by Fox 29, a woman called police with a bomb threat, claiming there were two explosive devices near the main entrance of the Fillmore. Police came and searched the building but found nothing. It also appears that two French Montana concerts scheduled for last week in Pittsburgh and Virginia were also canceled, although the reason for those cancellations remains unclear.

Sports problems

The Vikings crushed the Eagles on Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field with a final score of 26 to 3. Sure, it was “only” a warm-up game. But it would have been nice to win it! Next up for the Eagles is their season opener, the much-discussed Brazil game against the Packers. That will take place on Friday, September 6th, at 8:15 p.m.

As for the Phillies, we’re doing our best to make the race for the National League East interesting. Not long ago we were way ahead, but the Atlanta Braves are closing in and the Mets are hot on their heels. We have three games against the dreaded Houston Astros, who are coming to Philly for the first time since they beat us in the 2022 World Series. And then we have four (yes, four) games against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park starting Thursday. Buckle up.

Things you didn’t know you needed

Photos from the 2024 Philly Naked Bike Ride. (The smile on the face of the woman pushing a child in a stroller is pretty priceless…but what does the kid think about all this?)

In numbers

$0: That’s how much you’ll pay to ride New Jersey Transit this week. Bus, train, light rail. All free. Whether you just want to take the bus from one city to another or take the train from 30th Street Station to Atlantic City or from Trenton to New York. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has introduced the so-called Fare Holiday as an apology for all the service disruptions New Jersey Transit customers have faced recently.

96: High temperatures are forecast for Wednesday. Ugh. Atlantic City is ten degrees cooler and you can take the free New Jersey Transit train.

630: Number of Mister Softee trucks currently on the road. At its peak, the South Jersey-based company had about 2,000 trucks on the road. In a new report, CNN examines what’s happening to those sweet treats. For a look back at Mister Softee’s history in the Philadelphia area, check out Philly Mag’s in-depth 2021 report.

Local talent

Philadelphia’s Best of Philly award-winning drag queen Sapphira Cristal was so close to win last season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Unfortunately, we have to settle for second place. This week, Sapphira finishes a 23-city tour of the United States with two nights at TLA on South Street. Tickets here. For more on Sapphira, check out our mini-profile from earlier this year: “From Woody’s to RuPaul: Sapphira Cristál’s Glorious Journey.”