Background: Officers with the Philadelphia Police Department investigate after a man”s body is found in a suitcase on the 600 block of East Hilton Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (WTXF/YouTube). Inset: Vincent Good in a photo dated Oct. 29, 2015 (Facebook).
After Pennsylvania police found a man’s body stuffed in a suitcase, they identified the suspect as his caregiver and girlfriend, believing she shot him before dumping his remains with the help of her family.
Liza Ridley, 53, has been charged with murder in the death of 53-year-old Vincent Good, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. She also faces charges including possession of a crime with intent, abuse of a corpse, conspiracy to abuse a corpse, obstructing the administration of a law or other governmental function, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
There are three other defendants in the case: 55-year-old Bernadette Ridley, Liza Ridley’s sister; 32-year-old Liza Robinson, Liza Ridley’s daughter; and 33-year-old Gnaeus Daniels, the daughter’s boyfriend. They all face charges, including tampering with evidence and obstruction of justice, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced at a press conference streamed by local NBC affiliate WCAU.
Good and the defendants all lived at a home on the 5700 block of Leonard Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the DA’s office stated. Liza Ridley was not only the caregiver for Good — who was a hand and leg amputee — but she was also his girlfriend.
Investigators believe that Liza Ridley shot Good multiple times in the head in the home and then, with help from her family, stuffed his body into a suitcase. On May 22, Liza Ridley allegedly requested a vehicle through Lyft — a rideshare company — to pick her up, with the luggage in tow.
“The bag that she took was placed in the back of that Lyft vehicle,” Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope said. “The Lyft driver immediately smelled a horrible smell, asked about the smell. The answer to that question was, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, it’s dirty wet clothes.'”
The ride went on, and Liza Ridley reportedly exited the vehicle and dumped the luggage on the 600 block of East Hilton Street, about 3 miles away in the city. As Law&Crime previously reported, by the following morning, when a nearby resident discovered the luggage, it was covered in flies.
The Philadelphia Police Department was called, and officers began investigating. When they opened the suitcase, they found the “human upper torso” of Good inside.
Officers further “uncovered additional human remains in an early stage of decomposition inside two large trash bags,” police told Law&Crime. The Philadelphia Office of the Medical Examiner identified the victim as Good “and ruled his death a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds.”
As authorities released information to the public in hopes of uncovering new leads, the Lyft driver reportedly contacted police.
“She finished the Lyft drive, dropped off the individual, took a picture of her because she thought it was so odd, everything about it,” Pope recounted. “And the next day, after it was reported on the news, is when she contacted the police department and said, ‘I have information, I really think that this is the person who dropped that bag off.'”
Investigators went to the Leonard Street home and spoke with neighbors, who apparently had been curious about an odor at the residence.
“It smelled like a dead body. It was funky,” one neighbor told area ABC affiliate WPVI. “It was horrible. It took me two to three days to get the smell out of my house.”
“It smelled horrible,” added another. “I didn’t know if it was dead mice. I didn’t know if it was the basement because of the dogs.”
Days later, authorities executed a search warrant at the home in question and found that “the property was very, very clean,” Pope said. The defendants allegedly “admitted to” cleaning the place up and “removing the mattress” that Good had been on, and they were arrested.
Speaking of Liza Ridley, Pope said “she ultimately admitted to shooting the decedent in the head.” The assistant district attorney added that the case is still being investigated, including “what I’m going to call the fraud aspect” given that the woman was being paid for her services.
“We are still looking into financial motivations for this murder,” Pope said. Authorities hope to get more information soon about how long Good was dead before his body was found and how he was dismembered.
Liza Ridley is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on June 16.
