Caregiver accused of murdering boyfriend, using Lyft to dispose of body in suitcase in Philadelphia
By Tom Dougherty, Joe Holden, Tom Ignudo
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PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A caregiver is accused of shooting and killing her boyfriend and later taking a Lyft to dispose of his body in a suitcase and trash bags in Kensington last week, prosecutors in Philadelphia said Thursday.
Investigators said Liza Ridley fatally shot 53-year-old Vincent Good multiple times in the head at least two weeks ago in their home in Mayfair and then enlisted the help of her older sister, her daughter and her boyfriend to dismember his body and dispose of it.
Ridley is charged with murder, abuse of corpse and related offenses, Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said.
Ridley’s older sister, 55-year-old Bernadette Ridley, is being charged with abuse of corpse, tampering and related offenses.
Ridley’s daughter, 32-year-old Liza Robinson, and her boyfriend, 33-year-old Gnaeus Daniels, are charged with tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice, the ADA said.
Good’s body was found in a suitcase and two trash bags last week in the 600 block of East Hilton Street in Kensington, police said.
Investigators said police responded to a call shortly before 9:30 a.m. last Friday after someone looking for scrap material found Good’s body inside a suitcase. Homicide detectives also found additional human remains in two large trash bags.
Good’s body was dumped in the alleyway last Thursday when Liza Ridley took a Lyft from her home in Mayfair to Kensington, according to prosecutors. Robinson used her own account to order a Lyft for her mother to dump Good’s body, Pope said.
Ridley placed the suitcase in the back of the Lyft vehicle, and the driver “immediately smelled a horrible smell,” Pope said.
The driver asked Ridley about it and she responded with, “Oh, I’m sorry, it was dirty old clothes,” Pope said. The driver didn’t respond, Pope said, and dropped Ridley off on East Hilton Street, where the body was discarded.
Pope said the driver took a picture of Ridley and later provided it to investigators after seeing news coverage Friday and contacting detectives to say she had information about who dumped the body.
“That Lyft driver had the wisdom to take a photograph of that passenger based upon the suspicious indications that the Lyft driver was observing,” District Attorney Larry Krasner said.
Krasner said police were able to crack the case because “two Philadelphians who really had nothing direct to do with this case cared enough to speak up when they saw something that did not look right.”
A search warrant was executed Wednesday at Ridley’s home in the 5700 block of Leonard Street, where Good also lived, prosecutors said.
Investigators observed the property was “very, very clean,” and Robinson and Daniels admitted to removing the mattress Good had previously been on, Pope said.
Prosecutors said it’s unclear how long Good has been dead, but it was “at least two weeks” prior to the day his body was found. His body will be taken to a forensics lab next week to determine when he was killed and how his body was dismembered, Pope said.
Good was a partial amputee with one of his hands amputated above the wrist and his left leg amputated below the knee, Pope said. Ridley and her conspirators dismembered his body after she killed him, according to the ADA.
Ridley allegedly confessed to the murder Thursday, Pope said.
Investigators are still working on determining a motive for Good’s murder. They said Ridley was paid to be his caregiver, and he was receiving Social Security benefits.
Ridley reported to her employer Tuesday that Good had left Pennsylvania to live with his brother in Florida and that her services were no longer needed, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said they are looking into whether financial factors played into Good’s murder.
“The motive is under investigation,” Krasner said. “It is not clear at this time.”
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