A jury trial about a murder of a Wendy’s worker has reached a verdict.
The jury has convicted Dominique Isaac Harris, a 31-year-old Philadelphia man, of murder in the first degree and possessing a crime instrument in the brutal killing of his former Wendy’s co-worker, Michael Pickens.
During the four-day trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin McElroy testified about how Harris had been fired from Wendy’s two months earlier after getting into a fight with Pickens. She explained how Harris had waited for Pickens outside the restaurant, and when Pickens finished his shift and was taking out the trash, Harris attacked him. Harris stabbed Pickens 46 times, with over half of the wounds in the head and neck area. Pickens tried to fight off his attacker but ultimately sustained fatal injuries.
After stabbing Pickens, Harris fled the scene but later returned in his car and ran over Pickens twice in the parking lot. He then took Pickens’ body, put it in the backseat of the car, and dumped it a few miles away.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage showing Harris chasing and stabbing Pickens multiple times with a knife in the parking lot, leading to Harris’ arrest within 24 hours of the incident.
Detectives discovered that Harris owned the same make and model of the vehicle used in the attack, which was spotted and stopped by Philadelphia police. Police noticed blood outside the car during the stop and observed a large amount of blood in the backseat. They did not find the victim, but Harris was arrested that night. The next morning, Bensalem police discovered Pickens’ body dumped near a train station. They found a jacket Harris wore during the attack covering the victim’s body.
The prosecutor argued that Harris’s actions showed his willful and deliberate intent to kill Pickens, as he had planned and carried out a vicious and personal attack. The Bucks County jury deliberated for about two hours before convicting Harris. Sentencing will occur at a later date.
