When Corey White’s family saw a Facebook post from White’s child’s mom, London Eley, saying: “I will pay somebody a stack to kill my baby father,” they called police and had her arrested.
Timothy Bynum commented on the post saying: “Say no more … what he look like … where he be at … need that stack 1st.” He was also arrested.
A Philadelphia judge on Monday upheld felony charges against the pair, who’ve been detained since their June arrest.
On Monday, coincidentally (or not), Corey White was shot dead on a southwest Philadelphia street. Eley was still in custody on the night White was shot.
Eley’s defense attorney, Gerald Stein, argued that his client was merely venting about her ex-boyfriend and had no intention of following through. But he acknowledges that such rants can have serious consequences when they’re posted online.
Prosecutors do not believe Eley was joking about the hit. They say she insisted to Bynum, an online friend, that she was serious.
Bynum’s lawyer insisted his client had no intention of killing White when he responded to the Facebook message and had nothing to do with White’s shooting. The two did not know each other, Thompson said.
White had testified at a preliminary hearing in the Facebook case a few weeks ago.
“There was never any indication that he was fearful for his life,” Thompson recalled.
Thompson argued that his client had never even been given White’s name or a description of him. Police say they found three guns in Bynum’s home, but Thompson said one was legally registered to a parent, another was a BB gun and the third was inoperable.
Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dugan on Monday upheld a murder solicitation charge against Eley and a murder conspiracy charge against Bynum. Both are also charged with the illegal use of a computer. No gun charges have been filed against Bynum, although an investigation is under way.
Philadelphia police agree it’s too early to say if the Facebook posts led to White’s shooting.
