PA - Samantha Maag 31, Brutally Murdered in Act of “Workplace Violence,” Philadelphia, 19 Jan 2022

[realanastasia]

CBS Philly

“PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia police say a woman was beaten with a pipe and killed inside of an Old City office building Wednesday afternoon. The assault happened inside the Regus shared office space near 3rd and Chestnut Streets around 2:15 p.m.

At this hour, police are still interviewing the alleged attacker at police headquarters but say they do expect charges to be filed.

Police say a 31-year-old woman sitting at a receptionist desk on the eighth floor of the Regus building was attacked from behind by a man armed with two metal pipes.

“The male walked up to her and began hitting her in the head and he hit her repeatedly in the head. We believe she was struck at least five times,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.”

I had a sense from reading and listening to the local news that Philly has been worse than usual, in terms of random violence—see the article here for one manifestation of this trend Carjackings In Philadelphia Have Nearly Tripled Since 2019; More Than 100 Already In 2022 —but this incident took place in the middle of a weekday afternoon, in one of the “nicer” parts of Center City, Philadelphia (this office building is only 2 or 3 blocks from the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, and other historic tourist attractions), and in the most mundane setting I can imagine. My heart goes out to the loved ones of this poor young woman.

 

[CP244]

How could that be random when she was on the eighth floor?

 

[NervousNellie]

How could that be random when she was on the eighth floor?

Definitely not random:

Man charged with murder after allegedly beating woman to death with pipes in Old City office: Police

"Sources told Action News the attack may have been fueled over a rent dispute. Police confirmed the suspect was renting one to two units on the eighth floor of the building where the victim also worked."

 

[GoneGoldfishin']

That poor woman. Ten witnesses and no one even tried to intervene? What is wrong with people?

 

[Shamrock1]

Definitely not random:

Man charged with murder after allegedly beating woman to death with pipes in Old City office: Police

"Sources told Action News the attack may have been fueled over a rent dispute. Police confirmed the suspect was renting one to two units on the eighth floor of the building where the victim also worked."

Yup. This wasn’t a random guy who waltzed up to the 8th floor. Security is typically good in the building IMO.

 

[sds71]

@ARobertsCBS
Samantha Maag of New Jersey is the 31-year-old woman beaten-to-death by a man armed with two metal pipes Wednesday as she was sitting at her desk inside her Chestnut Street office. Her family tells me they are “grieving and still seek answers to so many questions.”

 

[sds71]

NEW VIDEO: A former landlord of 49YO Jeffrey Stepien says camera outside Stepien’s old apartment captured him pacing there for 1.5+ hours, w/ what appears to be 2 pipes, the day before he’s accused of brutally killing a woman w/ a pipe in an Old City office bld
Old City pipe attack: Video shows suspect holding pipes, pacing day before deadly attack

https://twitter.com/KellyRuleTV/status/1484292816784314373?s=20

 

[Shamrock1]

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/Repor...-CR-0000931-2022&dnh=gCOgT6YOzOXOxIodQGJMdw==

 

[realanastasia]

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/Report/CpCourtSummary?docketNumber=MC-51-CR-0000931-2022&dnh=gCOgT6YOzOXOxIodQGJMdw==

So he had a prior (2011) conviction for simple assault and reckless endangerment…and while in prison for this assault charge, filed a civil rights complaint against the state of PA, the prison, prison guards, his lawyers…all alleging that his civil rights has been violated and he deserved $8M in “damages.” Can you say, “Injustice Collector”? https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg...v-02274/pdf/USCOURTS-pamd-3_11-cv-02274-2.pdf

 

[Jsizzle]

Wow. This is absolutely horrific

 

[Shamrock1]

"The entire homicide was captured on surveillance video, police told the Inquirer, and it occurred in view of others on the eighth floor, some of whom called 911 and told operators they were hiding."
Pa. man living in rented office clubbed manager to death after she put him out, police say

 

[Shamrock1]

"Frank Vanore, the chief inspector of the Philadelphia Police's Detective Bureau, told the Inquirer that Stepien had been renting space within the building where the incident occurred. Vanore added that Stepien may have been living there. Detectives are now looking into whether Stepien committed the alleged attack after he was asked to move from the building. 'We're assuming that there was some kind of notification given to him,' Vanore said."
Pa. Man Accused of Beating Woman to Death with Pipe While She Was Seated at Office Reception Desk

 

[Strangeworld]

That poor woman. Ten witnesses and no one even tried to intervene? What is wrong with people?

What can most people do in this situation?? He had 2 metal pipes and acting extremely aggressively. The people witnessing this are victims too. You can't be expected to stop a violent crime just because you are present.

 

[Laughing]

What can most people do in this situation?? He had 2 metal pipes and acting extremely aggressively. The people witnessing this are victims too. You can't be expected to stop a violent crime just because you are present.

Now that we know several called 911 (mentioned upthread) that's what a responsible person does.

Hiding, I understand that. Maybe someone called to her, told her they were calling for help.

RIP, Ms. Maag.

jmho ymm lrr

 

[evilwise]

Maybe I'm unusual but I don't feel comfortable in places where no one has the means to end a violent assault should one occur.

 

[Shamrock1]

“Andrew Hong, Maag's former co-worker who was once managed by her, wasn't in the office at the time but told NBC10 workers in a nearby conference room tried to tackle Stepien during the attack.”
Police ID Man Suspected of Beating Woman to Death With Pipe

 

[Shamrock1]

Maybe I'm unusual but I don't feel comfortable in places where no one has the means to end a violent assault should one occur.

There’s good security in the lobby. This was on the 8th floor. Not many buildings have security stationed on every floor.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I think it's easy for us to Monday morning quarterback, but a violent assault happening right in front of you to someone you know is a traumatizing event. When it comes to trauma, fight or flight comes into play and what many don't consider is that there are two other components to fight or flight - freeze or fawn. In this case, freeze is a perfectly normal response, unfortunately. None of us know what we do if we were in the exact same situation.

 

[Laughing]

Remember that these observers called 911. That's an action that helped.

Recently in this city, a woman was raped on public transportation. Observers used phones to record video of the attack, the sexual assault that turned into a rape -- but apparently not one called 911:

Philadelphia woman raped on train while commuters held up phones

PA - Woman raped on train as bystanders record, Philadelphia, 13 Oct 2021

Applauding those able to use a phone to help Ms. Maag, and any who physically tried to intervene.

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Shamrock1]

Remember that these observers called 911. That's an action that helped.

Recently in this city, a woman was raped on public transportation. Observers used phones to record video of the attack, the sexual assault that turned into a rape -- but apparently not one called 911:

Philadelphia woman raped on train while commuters held up phones

PA - Woman raped on train as bystanders record, Philadelphia, 13 Oct 2021

Applauding those able to use a phone to help Ms. Maag, and any who physically tried to intervene.

jmho ymmv lrr

Train rape:
DA: “the narrative that there is a group of people callously filming and didn’t act, is simply not true.”
Official: Narrative of riders filming train rape is false

“That is simply not true. It did not happen. We have the security video from SEPTA that shows that was not the true narrative," said.
'Simply not true': Prosecutor disputes commuters 'callously' recorded rape on SEPTA train


An October 25, 2021 opinion piece by Ernest Owens at phillymag.com may be worth a read.