Rope found in throat during embalming leads to murder charge

Philadelphia police say there was no reason to believe foul play when they first responded to a call June 10 that a woman had died at a the Parker Place apartments on the 300 block of Parker Avenue. So Mcewan's body was taken directly to the funeral home.

Jeff Thompson, the funeral director, said nothing appeared amiss when he began readying the body for embalming. It was only when he and another staff member were doing the prep work on June 11 that they noticed the rope.

"I've done this for 20 some years, on thousands of people, and obviously I knew right away this didn't appear to be a natural cause of death," Thompson said. "We called the medical examiner."

Thompson described finding what he said was eight to 10 inches of cotton rope, similar to what might be used as a drawstring in pants or a hoodie, lodged deep in the throat. He also found a candy wrapper.

"It's a sad case," Thompson said.

A preliminary court hearing for Cherry is set for July 11.