The tragic case of Kada Scott, a young woman from Philadelphia, has taken a grim turn as authorities revealed she died from a gunshot wound to the head. This detail emerged on Thursday, shedding more light on the circumstances surrounding her death.
Scott, who was just 23 years old, disappeared on October 4 shortly after she arrived for her night shift at an assisted living facility in Chestnut Hill. Her remains were discovered on Monday in a shallow grave in the woods behind the abandoned Ada H. Lewis Middle School. Officials confirmed the remains belonged to Scott.
The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office has officially ruled her death a homicide, according to a statement released on Thursday. The statement also noted her date of death as October 18, 2025.
This revelation follows closely on the heels of murder charges filed against Keon King, who had previously been implicated in Scott’s kidnapping.
King, aged 21, was reportedly the last person to have been in contact with Scott. He was apprehended on October 14 and initially faced charges including kidnapping for ransom, false imprisonment, stalking, and reckless endangerment, among others.
On Wednesday, authorities escalated the charges against King to include murder, abuse of a corpse, and robbery, as reported by local CW affiliate PHL17.
On Wednesday, officials announced that King was additionally charged with murder, abuse of corpse and robbery, local CW affiliate PHL17 reported.
Court documents show that shortly before her disappearance, Scott sent a message to a cell phone believed to be connected to King saying, “ kidnap me again,” to which King replied, “better be up too.”
That exchange took place on the morning of Oct. 4, authorities said. Later that evening, King allegedly kidnapped Scott from her place of work in northeast Philly.
“We will continue to pursue justice for Ms. Scott, her family, and all victims of crime,” Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said on X.
King is being held at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on $2.5 million bail, NBC Philadelphia reported. He is expected to be arraigned on the murder charge later on Thursday.
