A Philadelphia man accused of stabbing his children’s mother 18 times to death inside a van in broad daylight has officially been charged with murder.
Police said the body of 32-year-old Ashley Lockhart was found Saturday morning (Aug. 9) inside a Honda Odyssey on the 5300 block of Chestnut Street with stab wounds all over her body and face.
Just hours after the gruesome discovery, police said a 34-year-old man was in custody. And now, that man has been identified as Raymond Thompson, who has since been charged with murder and other crimes.
Following the murder, the District Attorney’s Office stated that Thompson was known to police and that Lockhart had filed a protection from abuse order against him, but the couple was still living together for whatever reason.
“I don’t have specifics to answer for you on this man’s record, I do know that it’s very lengthy, and I know the case is extremely sad very, very troubling,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
Thompson turned himself in on Saturday, almost immediately after the fatal stabbing of Lockhart, according to authorities. He reportedly told police that after he stabbed Lockhart—who was in the van’s passenger seat—he went and got high on heroin before turning himself in.
The motive for the killing has not been revealed by investigators, but law enforcement sources speaking on the condition of anonymity said Thompson told detectives he stabbed Lockhart because he thought she’d been cheating on him.
“This particular victim did the right thing, but for some reason, she was back with this man in that particular van,” Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore told Philly’s Fox 29. “I don’t know the circumstances of that, I don’t know why that was, but sadly enough she’s not going to be here to tell us what happened.”
According to court records, Thompson had several prior convictions for crimes including drug offenses.
In 2018, he was sentenced to six to 23 months in jail after pleading guilty to charges including risking a catastrophe and resisting arrest. In that case, court records state Thompson ran from police and jumped on train tracks in an attempt to escape after they tried to arrest him for a drug violation.
Lockhart leaves behind six children, the youngest of whom is only five months old.
A GoFundMe established for Lockhart’s children called her “an amazing mother” who “devoted her time, energy, and made sacrifices for [her children] that they will forever remember.”
