MAC machines photograph Sled murder suspect

Police called a trail of photos and credit card slips their best lead in the stabbing case. Suspects in the murder of Vladimir Sled have used his fiancee's bank and credit cards 11 times since the incident, leaving behind a trail of evidence that police say is their best lead in the case. A male fatally stabbed the University Medical Center researcher while robbing Cecelia Hagerhall, his fiancee, on the 4300 block of Larchwood Avenue at 11:15 p.m. on October 31. One suspect was photographed by an money access center (MAC) machine at 57th and Vine streets at 1:30 a.m. -- hours after the murder -- as he used Hagerhall's bank card, University Investigator Bill Danks said. Someone also signed two receipts using her credit cards. "We're pretty excited about the picture, but we don't know who it is," Danks said. He cautioned against the assumption that the suspect photographed by the MAC machine is Sled's murderer. Photographs show that the suspect also tried and failed to withdraw money from MACs with Hagerhall's bank card at 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., Danks said. And someone used Hagerhall's credit cards at gas stations and convenience stores eight times in the early morning hours after the murder, he added. They charged chips and soda at one stop and tanks of gas for multiple cars at different gas stations, Danks said. The suspects ended the shopping spree when the cards were cancelled. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is enhancing the MAC pictures, including one that shows a car behind the suspect, he added. Witnesses said the murder suspect and several others fled the scene in an old, American-made dark brown four-door car with a tan roof. University Police Friday released three photographs of the suspect taken by the MAC at 57th and Vine streets. They also posted the images in the on-line edition of the Almanac at http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/. The photos will appear in tomorrow's Almanac. And Philadelphia TV station WPVI, Channel 6, will air the pictures during a special segment on tomorrow's 11 p.m. and Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. newscasts, Chief of Police Operations Maureen Rush said. Rush said after another local TV station showed the MAC pictures on Thursday, police received and followed up on tips from people who believed they had seen the suspect. The University has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects responsible for Sled's murder. Anyone with information about the case can call the Citizens Crime Commission of Delaware Valley anonymously at 546-8477. "We're pretty confident we're going to make an arrest [in the case]," Danks said. "They made a mistake [by trying] to use Ms. Hagerhall's credit cards all over the place." Danks and University Investigator Frank DeMeo are assisting Philadelphia Police's homicide unit with the investigation into Sled's murder.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.