Background: Law enforcement investigate after on I-95 in Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania (WPVI/YouTube). Inset left: Daryl Beckett (Pennsylvania State Police). Inset right: Chris Gordy (Hunt Irving Funeral Home).
A man wanted for allegedly gunning down two former classmates — killing one of them — following a high school reunion has been caught.
Daryl Beckett, 36, had been on the run for nearly two years after being charged with the murder of 41-year-old Chris Gordy. But on Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service announced that he had been arrested in Pennsylvania securing the capture of one of the Pennsylvania State Police”s “Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives.”
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Beckett, Gordy, 37-year-old Ronald Collins — allegedly Beckett’s co-conspirator — and others attended a high school reunion at The Waterfall, a banquet hall in Claymont, Delaware, authorities said. Shortly after the reunion, Gordy was driving on I-95 in Upper Chichester Township, Pennsylvania, with another reunion attendee when they came under fie.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, “over 40 shots were fired from a rifle into a moving vehicle, striking and killing the driver [Gordy] and injuring the passenger,” who has not been identified.
Hours after the men were ambushed, Beckett made a call to a friend in prison, according to an affidavit obtained by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Life is good,” he reportedly told Bryant Foreman, a man from Beckett’s same city of Chester who was serving a life sentence for an unrelated murder. “I still got it in me, boy … It’s like muscle memory.”
Not only were Beckett and Foreman reportedly from the same city, but Beckett is said to have served time in the same prison for a 2008 attempted murder case. He was only released earlier in 2023.
“Give me a little time, but it’s on,” Beckett is said to have told his friend.
Collins, who allegedly drove Beckett when they gunned down Gordy and his passenger, was reportedly detained two days after the shooting. Incriminating evidence was found, according to police, including a Glock handgun, gunshot residue, and his phone showing communication with Beckett and pictures of the victims.
Collins was ultimately arrested on Dec. 12, 2023, per local ABC affiliate WPVI.
Around this same time, a warrant was obtained for Beckett’s arrest. In addition to murder, he was also wanted for conspiracy and aggravated assault, among other crimes. However, authorities could not locate him. It wasn’t until recently that police learned Beckett was “hiding” at a residence in the 1600 block of Brighton Place in Pittsburgh.
He was arrested on Monday night.
“Thanks to the outstanding collaboration between the U.S. Marshals Service and Pennsylvania State Police, a dangerous murderer has been captured, and our community is safer tonight,” Robert Clark, supervisory deputy for the Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force, said on Monday.
Authorities have not released what they believe the motive behind the shooting was.
Upper Chichester Township is located just 20 miles or so southwest of Philadelphia.
