Philadelphia carjacking suspects charged with murder in death of 3 kids

Two Philadelphia men accused of carjacking a woman, sexually assaulting her and crashing into a crowd, killing three children, were charged with murder Monday.

Jonathan Rosa, 19, and Cornelius Crawford, 23, were charged with three counts of second-degree murder, conspiracy, robbery, robbery of a motor vehicle, kidnapping, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, aggravated assault, sexual assault and recklessly endangering another person, according to a news release from Philadelphia police.

Keiearra Williams, 15, Joseph Reed, 10, and Terrance Moore, 7, were killed in the crash, according to the release. Police said in a statement that the children were selling fruit to support a local garden when the car struck them.

Police said Rosa and Crawford carjacked a woman Friday in the northern part of the city before driving to the intersection of Germantown and Allegheny avenues, where they struck a crowd of pedestrians, police said. The men fled, police said.

Other members of the crowd remain in the hospital.

The mother of the three children, Keisha Williams, 34, is in critical condition. Two other victims, including the assaulted driver, are listed in stable condition, police said.

The incident has rocked the community, Dist. Atty. Seth Williams said at a news conference. He said basketball legend and former Philadelphia 76ers player Charles Barkley had offered to pay for the children’s funerals.

“He wanted me to know that he wanted to pay for the funeral of these three children,” Williams said.

Barkley was put in touch with the families of the children, Williams said.

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