NORRISTOWN — The man accused of killing a former romantic partner and her unborn child in a hail of bullets at a King of Prussia gas station had a history of domestic abuse and was on state parole and prohibited from possessing a firearm at the time of the fatal attack, according to court documents.
Rafiq Thompson, 38, of the 800 block of North 47th Street, Philadelphia, charged earlier this week with homicide in connection with the April 8 fatal shooting of 31-year-old Tamara Cornelius, was arraigned on Thursday on an additional charge of murder of an unborn child. An autopsy conducted on Cornelius revealed she was shot four times and that she was 14-weeks pregnant.
“The defendant knew she was pregnant,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said on Thursday at a news conference where he and Upper Merion Police Chief Thomas Nolan provided additional details about the alleged murder. “This is a cold killing of a young woman and her unborn child…clearly evil in his heart.”
Court documents indicate detectives reviewed text messages exchanged between Thompson and Cornelius between January and April, which indicated they were involved in a relationship in January and that by the end of March, Cornelius was trying to end the relationship. Additionally, in the text messages, Cornelius identified Thompson as the father of her unborn child, detectives alleged in the criminal complaint.
Thompson, who is being held without bail, faces an April 25 preliminary hearing on all the charges before District Court Judge Patrick Krouse.
According to court documents, Thompson’s criminal history includes a 2016 arrest by Philadelphia police for aggravated assault after he intentionally used his vehicle to strike another ex-girlfriend, who had an active protection from abuse order against him, and injured her.
Thompson ultimately pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 25, 2018, to 3 to 6 years in prison and 11 years’ probation and was ordered to complete anger management counseling, according to the arrest affidavit. Thompson was made eligible for parole upon completing a “Batterers Group” program and was released on June 30, 2019, and he was on state parole at the time of the alleged April 8 fatal shooting, detectives outlined in court papers.
The investigation found that in the days leading up to the alleged fatal confrontation with Cornelius, between April 4 and April 6, Thompson texted Cornelius 93 times and called her 21 times, communications that went unanswered by Cornelius, according to authorities.
“He tried to contact her numerous times in the days preceding, texting incessantly, calling incessantly,” Steele said.
On April 8, Thompson texted Cornelius to invite her to dinner and at 9:11 p.m. the pair met at the Cheesecake Factory at the King of Prussia Mall, court papers indicate. A waiter who served the pair told detectives that the two appeared to be having a contentious conversation before Thompson left the restaurant at 9:43 p.m. without Cornelius, according to court papers.
Cornelius asked a waiter to box the food for takeout, paid the bill and then she left the restaurant at 10:15 p.m. and then drove to the Exxon Station at 113 N. Gulph Road. Thompson allegedly followed the victim to the gas station.
While Cornelius was pumping gas, Thompson stepped out of his car, spoke to her briefly and then shot her multiple times as she attempted to run away, authorities alleged.
“It is chilling. It is a heinous killing of a young woman. After being shot, she runs, falls to the ground, stumbles, tries to get up and he continues to shoot her and then stands over her,” said Steele, referring to gas station video surveillance footage that recorded the alleged killing. “He drives away and leaves her to die.”
Upper Merion police were dispatched at 10:22 p.m. to the Exxon Station for a report of shots fired. They arrived to find Cornelius suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to Paoli Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators alleged Thompson discarded the weapon, a black semiautomatic handgun, in the 400 block of South Gulph Road and it was recovered by detectives.
“We have the murder weapon that the defendant used to kill Tamara Cornelius,” Steele said.
Court documents indicate that Thompson, as a result of his criminal record, was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
“This is another example of a criminal who could not have a firearm. He is a person not to possess a firearm because of his history. So, somehow he got a gun. We’re going to investigate how he got that gun and if we find out who gave him that gun, that’s a straw purpose, that’s somebody putting a gun into the hands of a criminal, and they have blood on their hands right now,” said Steele, his voice rising.
“Anybody that’s putting the guns out there on the street and these end up in these killings, blood on your hands,” Steele added.
A straw purchase occurs when a person with a clean background purchases firearms on behalf of another person to conceal the true ownership of the firearm. Those who are unable to legally purchase firearms include convicted felons, domestic violence offenders, juveniles and mentally ill individuals.
Investigators, according to court documents, also determined that during his getaway, Thompson took time to stop at the drive-thru of a McDonald’s Restaurant on Baltimore Pike in Clifton Heights where he made a food purchase at 11:49 p.m., just one hour and 27 minutes after the fatal shooting.
Thompson surrendered to authorities on Wednesday.
“I think the heat was on this individual and he smartly turned himself in to the police department and it avoided any further gun violence or any violence from this individual who is very dangerous,” Nolan said.
Steele said the alleged killing is another example of “relationship-based” violence.
“Far too many of our homicides are relationship-based. People that are being abused, whether mentally or physically, there’s help for you. We have places that can help people through these problems,” said Steele, referring to the Women’s Center of Montgomery County and Laurel House. “I hope and pray people will use their services.”
