The man charged in the Dec. 3, 2025 slaying of 93-year-old Lafayette Dailey, inside his Nicetown home, knew him “in a neighborly way,” officials with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said in Monday. Officials said, following an investigation into the slaying, investigators found no signs of forced entry into the home on the day Dailey was killed. Coy Thomas, 53, has been arrested and charged in the crime. On Monday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner opened an event to discuss the arrest and charging of Thomas, by saying Dailey was well-known in his community and was a family man, friend, neighbor and military veteran. “Lafayette Dailey, who’s picture is right here, shouldn’t have been in the crosshairs,” said Krasner. “That never should have happened. But, it did and there is no tolerance in this office for the victimization of vulnerable people.” In detailing the evidence that their office has, allegedly, found in this case, Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski said police became aware of the crime after Dailey’s friends at a senior center in Philly’s Ogontz neighborhood expressed concern after he wasn’t coming in a regularly as usual. Friends and family members went to the home, she said, where they found Dailey’s body after he had been stabbed to death. An investigation, she said, revealed that, at some point on Dec. 3, 2025, Thomas was spotted on surveillance footage entering the home. But, she said, investigators found no signs of forced entry, because Thomas and Dailey knew each other “in an neighborly way.” Surveillance video, Toczylowski said, also showed Thomas leaving the home alone, hoping into Dailey’s vehicle and driving away. “A vehicle, we know, that only he drove,” she said, noting no one else had access to the car. After the slaying, she said, Thomas sold the vehicle. Along with taking the car, Toczylowski said that Thomas also stole Dailey’s wallet. He then, she said, attempted to use his credit cards at several businesses in the area. Inside the property, she said, investigators found the home “ransacked a bit.” “We also know there was some kind of struggle,” she said. Thomas has been charged with homicide, robbery, theft and related offenses following this incident. He is currently being held without bail, according to court documents. ...read more read less