GUILTY PA - Gina Schickling, 22, stabbed to death, Philadelphia, 1 July 2010

[Filly]

Friends and family were alerted to Gina Schickling's murder from her father on Facebook.

22 year old Schickling was reported missing on June 30th. Sadly her body was found buried in Warren County, New Jersey stabbed 22 times.

Schickling's boyfriend an ex con from Philly named Stephen Benford aged 23 has been charged with her murder. Another article says they met on an online dating service. Gina had moved in with Benford in his apartment in Kensington sometime in April neighbors say.

That was one rough neighborhood this poor girl had been living in. May she rest in peace poor young lady.



http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Charged-With-Killing-Girlfriend-97934199.html

 

[Filly]

Murderer's Facebook




http://www.facebook.com/stevedrb#!

Gina's Facebook



http://www.facebook.com/stevedrb#!/profile.php?id=8227761

 

[Filly]

This is too sad. Gina's dad Tom's Facebook where he let friends and family know of his poor DD's murder.

Such a beautiful, bright girl. RIP lovely Gina. I'm so sorry some creep took your life like this.



http://www.facebook.com/people/Tom-Schickling/1596026815#!/profile.php?id=1596026815&v=wall

 

[nancy botwin]

Very disturbing and sad.

Benford's twitter: http://twitter.com/stevedrb

Benford's online photo album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prs215/

 

[nancy botwin]

I read that the victim and accused met online at okcupid so I wanted to see if his profile was still up on the site.

Indeed it is.
http://www.okcupid.com/profile/PRS-ShredHer

Note the username. Very disturbing. Last login June 21.

In the profile, he says he's single and interested in meeting young women.
From the profile:

"I do cocaine, smoke cigarettes like they're going out of style, have what professionals would call a serious drinking problem, have sex with everyone, take things that don't belong to me, start bar fights AND IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THESE THINGS DON'T BOTHER TALKING TO ME!!!!!!!!!"

and

"You should message me if you think you can handle me."

ETA: An online forum where people who purport to have known/gone to school with Benford discuss his history of bad acts from grammar school to present. http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/205189

 

[Filly]

I read that the victim and accused met online at okcupid so I wanted to see if his profile was still up on the site.

Indeed it is.
http://www.okcupid.com/profile/PRS-ShredHer

Note the username. Very disturbing. Last login June 21.

In the profile, he says he's single and interested in meeting young women.
From the profile:

"I do cocaine, smoke cigarettes like they're going out of style, have what professionals would call a serious drinking problem, have sex with everyone, take things that don't belong to me, start bar fights AND IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE THESE THINGS DON'T BOTHER TALKING TO ME!!!!!!!!!"

and

"You should message me if you think you can handle me."

ETA: An online forum where people who purport to have known/gone to school with Benford discuss his history of bad acts from grammar school to present. http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/205189

Nancy, thanks button is not enough.

This is all way too sad.

Gina was a beautiful, talented girl. It turns out she comes from a neighborhood real close to mine. I don't know her personally and from her surname they used I didn't recognize it. Her other name I do. My friend's kids though some of them did know her and said she was immensely talented. A kind, free spirit.

That wasn't even from here. Have a relative in a bike club and it's not a biker club. Ya know extreme biking stuff. I'm old so sorry I don't know terminology. Apparently at some point he lived in South Philly. Too da*n bad for the rest of us. He should have stayed in Jersey.

The apartment they shared is in a part called Kensington. It is BAD right where they were living. Unfortunately I know that area and I mean it's BAD. It sounds like Gina had a good heart and tried to help people. Man, there's a ton of people to be helped where they lived.

He referred to mako's which is on South Street. A bar. Gina was last seen at a bar in NoLibs. Sabina Rose was just murdered there. Heavily gentrified. They keep trying to push the market upwards to the bad areas so that might explain why they chose to live there.

Again, thank you. It's killing me this poor girl had her life taken by some nut job. From a decent part of New Jersey no less.

Rest In Peace beautiful, sweet girl. I am so sorry there's so much ugly in this world.

 

[Lovejac]

OH

MY

GOD!

Words escape me right now. Trust me, that doesn't happen often.

 

[nancy botwin]

Nancy, thanks button is not enough.

This is all way too sad.

Gina was a beautiful, talented girl. It turns out she comes from a neighborhood real close to mine. I don't know her personally and from her surname they used I didn't recognize it. Her other name I do. My friend's kids though some of them did know her and said she was immensely talented. A kind, free spirit.

That wasn't even from here. Have a relative in a bike club and it's not a biker club. Ya know extreme biking stuff. I'm old so sorry I don't know terminology. Apparently at some point he lived in South Philly. Too da*n bad for the rest of us. He should have stayed in Jersey.

The apartment they shared is in a part called Kensington. It is BAD right where they were living. Unfortunately I know that area and I mean it's BAD. It sounds like Gina had a good heart and tried to help people. Man, there's a ton of people to be helped where they lived.

He referred to mako's which is on South Street. A bar. Gina was last seen at a bar in NoLibs. Sabina Rose was just murdered there. Heavily gentrified. They keep trying to push the market upwards to the bad areas so that might explain why they chose to live there.

Again, thank you. It's killing me this poor girl had her life taken by some nut job. From a decent part of New Jersey no less.

Rest In Peace beautiful, sweet girl. I am so sorry there's so much ugly in this world.

I agree. It's so terribly sad to hear about yet another vibrant young woman murdered so senselessly.

Thank you for bringing both Gina and Sabina's stories to WS. I really appreciate your insight and ability to offer a local perspective.

 

[Filly]

Gina's obituay.




http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ph...ina-m-schickling-gina&pid=143980789&fhid=4467

Please send prayers, postive vibes and love and light to help sustain her family at this dark time in their lives.

 

[OkieGranny]

From February 2011:

http://articles.philly.com/2011-02-10/news/27740237_1_gina-schickling-stephen-benford-boyfriend

California college student Gina Schickling returned home to Philadelphia on June 21, eager to begin summer vacation and life with a new boyfriend. Ten days later, Schickling, 22, was dead - stabbed 59 times - although her body would not be found until July 7 in an overgrown field in North Jersey.

On Wednesday, Schickling's boyfriend, Stephen Benford, 24, a man authorities say had a troubled childhood, short temper, and history of violent behavior, pleaded guilty to killing her and was sentenced to 46 to 92 years in prison...

Short, stocky, and heavily tattooed, Benford pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in Schickling's death and two counts of aggravated assault and weapons charges in an earlier, unrelated stabbing in a Queen Village bar.