Boyfriend, 19, held in slaying of pregnant S. Phila. woman

Tiffany Gillespie's boyfriend wasn't happy that she was pregnant with his baby, so early Thursday he shot the 24-year-old mother of two in the head, leaving her dead in the basement of her South Philadelphia home, police said.

Gillespie's mother found her with a single gunshot wound at 2:40 a.m. and called police to the house, on Mildred Street near Ritner. Gillespie's two young children and other family members were in the house at the time of the slaying, police said.

"Immediately, detectives focused on her boyfriend, Aaron Fitzpatrick, with whom she's had a tumultuous relationship for several months," Homicide Captain James Clark said Thursday.

Based on the couple's history, Fitzpatrick, 19, was a suspect from the outset, Clark said, and he was arrested Thursday after being questioned by detectives. He was expected to be formally charged Thursday night.

"They had been arguing over the last 24-hour period," Clark said. "He was upset with the fact she was pregnant with his baby, and killed her as a result."

Clark said the couple had a history of domestic disputes for which cops were called to Gillespie's home.

"[They] had a rough relationship," he said.

Bill Boyle, a neighbor of Gillespie's, said he and his wife, who both work nights, were unloading cleaning supplies for their business on the block early Thursday when Gillespie's mother bolted out of her two-story, red-brick rowhouse screaming, " 'My daughter's dead! My daughter's dead!' "

Within minutes, police cruisers swarmed the block, as neighbors gathered and detectives began questioning the family and hunting for evidence.

Neighbors said Gillespie had a preschool-age daughter and an 8-year-old son, and told them she was six months pregnant.

"It's such a shock to hear," said Angela Holton, 24, a friend who grew up with Gillespie, said of the slaying. "I know they had a lot of stuff going on in the family."