Man Killed Boyfriend To Stop Him From Publicly Announcing Their Relationship

A North Philadelphia man shot and killed his boyfriend and then burned the remains to prevent the victim from exposing their relationship.

Investigators revealed last Friday that cellphone records revealed the motive of 20-year-old Kylen Pratt, where he plotted to shoot and kill his boyfriend Naasire Johnson,20, on February 17.

Homicide Capt. Jason Smith said in a statement that Pratt dated men and women but didn’t want Johnson to reveal their relationship publicly.

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Johnson’s grandmother, Cynthia Johnson, said she last saw her grandson on February 17 after he called an Uber and then left their family home in West Philadelphia. She didn’t know where he was going and reported him missing after he didn’t return home the following day. Johnson’s friend told her that he was in a relationship with a man who used the nickname 29th Street Rich.

Cynthia added that a detective told her her grandson’s phone last pinged at 12:20 a.m. on February 18. Investigators believe Pratt killed him at his home and then took the body near a trail in Fairmount Park before setting it on fire.

“It’s a relief that they arrested someone, but at the same time, I’m just so hurt. It’s just so sad. He didn’t have to do that to him. My grandson didn’t deserve that,” she told the Inquirer.

“The way he took him out there and burned him. That’s a hate crime. He knew what he was going to do to him. I’m in the process of trying to move because it was just him and me here, together. Every time I wake up and see his picture, and I start crying. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. Why did he have to do that? He didn’t have to do that to him.”

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Philadelphia Gay News also reported spokeswoman Jane Roh for District Attorney Lawrence Krasner released the following statement:

“[Pratt] will get a preliminary-hearing date when he’s arraigned for the murder of Mr. Johnson — which is still pending as the defendant was already in jail for other offenses at the time of [his] arrest. [I]t should happen any day now. The DA’s Office is grateful for the work the Philadelphia Police homicide unit put into this case. Our Victim/Witness Services Unit and CARES team will continue to work with Mr. Johnson’s surviving family to offer support in their time of grief and throughout the criminal justice process.”