Jury selection begins this week for six in Piazza killings

Like many young suburbanites, Rian Thal joined the reverse migration to Philadelphia in the late '90s, drawn by the excitement of clubs, nightlife, and a growing community of young professionals that was part of the Center City rejuvenation.

She worked in clubs and performed as an exotic dancer before making a name for herself as a party planner whose events often attracted professional athletes, celebrities, and aspiring rappers.

But over the next month, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury will consider whether Thal's other alleged activities - as a player in the city's drug trade - led to her death at 34, on June 27, 2009, in a sparkling new apartment complex that was emblematic of the city's rebirth.

Jury selection begins this week in the trial of six men who prosecutors say shot and killed Thal and her friend Timothy Gilmore, 40, in a hallway ambush outside her apartment in the Piazza at Schmidts development in Northern Liberties.

Investigators say the killings were part of a botched robbery. The prize? Nearly $100,000 in cash and 81/2 pounds of cocaine that police found in Thal's apartment after she and Gilmore were killed.

In court hearings since the killings, police and lawyers have raised alternate theories, including that Thal was in on the planned robbery and unexpectedly became a victim.

The answer to which theory holds up will have to wait until testimony starts, likely later next week after jury selection for an anticipated four-week trial in which two of the six defendants could face the death penalty.

That's because prosecutors and defense attorneys have been barred from speaking publicly about the case since a judicial gag order was imposed in March 2010.

The key evidence against the six has been known since the preliminary hearing Sept. 23, 2009.

The killings - and events leading to them - were captured on a series of surveillance cameras in and around the Navona building at the upscale residential-retail complex.

The video led police to their first arrest: Katoya Jones, 27, a pharmaceutical company employee who lived a floor below Thal.

Jones was seen on video letting one gunman through the glass security door and into the Navona lobby. That gunman later let in three others.

Investigators say Jones was overcome with grief after being shown autopsy photos of Thal, who was shot in the head at close range. Recognizing her neighbor, Jones pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution.