Updated
Updated · WPVI-TV · Jul 14
George Barr Charged in Shooting of 20-Year-Old UK Contractor as DHS Links Victim to Scam Group
Updated
Updated · WPVI-TV · Jul 14

George Barr Charged in Shooting of 20-Year-Old UK Contractor as DHS Links Victim to Scam Group

3 articles · Updated · WPVI-TV · Jul 14

Summary

  • Philadelphia police charged 75-year-old homeowner George Barr with murder after 20-year-old Salis Hanrahan was shot in the chest at Barr's Roxborough home and later collapsed outside.
  • DHS said Hanrahan, a UK national in the U.S. without legal permission, was allegedly tied to the "Traveling Conman Fraud Group," which investigators say targets homeowners with fraudulent construction and repair work.
  • Workers told police they were installing siding outside when they heard a commotion inside; homicide detectives are still investigating what led to the shooting.
  • Barr was arraigned last Thursday and denied bail, while federal officials said ICE and CBP had never previously encountered Hanrahan.
  • The case now sits at the intersection of a local homicide probe and a broader federal focus on transnational home-repair fraud networks.

Insights

A Vietnam vet killed a UK conman over a $70k bill. Was it self-defense or a cold-blooded murder?
Denied entry, then shot dead in Philly: How do transnational criminals keep slipping past US borders?