A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his romantic partner and burning his body to cover up their relationship, authorities said
On Friday, Sept. 27, a Philadelphia jury convicted Kylen Pratt, 23, of first-degree murder for the brutal 2022 slaying of Naasire Johnson, 20
âMake no mistake,â Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said in a statement. âThe murder of Naasire Johnson was a hate crime. Kylen Pratt did not want anyone to know of his romantic involvement with the victimâ
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his romantic partner and burning his body to cover up their relationship, authorities said.
On Friday, Sept. 27, a Philadelphia jury convicted Kylen Pratt, 23, of first-degree murder for the brutal 2022 slaying of Naasire Johnson, 20, in the cityâs Brewerytown section, the Philadelphia District Attorneyâs Office announced in a statement.
Following his conviction, a judge sentenced Pratt to a mandatory sentence of life in state incarceration without the possibility of parole followed by a consecutive period of 4.5 to 9 years.
The murder is considered a hate crime because Pratt was in a romantic relationship with Johnson at the time of the murder, prosecutors said.
"This is an individual who was killed because he was gay and because the man who killed him did not want anyone to find out that he was in a relationship with him," Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said at a press conference Monday, local outlet WPVI reported.
âMake no mistake,â Pope said in the statement. âThe murder of Naasire Johnson was a hate crime. Kylen Pratt did not want anyone to know of his romantic involvement with the victim.â
Authorities were able to solve the crime based on someone who provided the anonymous tip, she said.
Investigators learned that in the early morning hours of Feb. 17, 2022, Johnson took an Uber from his familyâs West Philadelphia residence to Prattâs home on Oxford Street, prosecutors said in the statement.
âPratt shot Johnson in the neck shortly after the victimâs arrival,â the statement continued, further noting that he then transported Johnsonâs body to a remote trail in Fairmount Park and set the corpse on fire.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
https://people.com/penn-man-killed-romantic-partner-and-burned-his-body-to-cover-up-their-relationship-8721526