Kasey DeZolt (left) and Dominique Richter
As details regarding the death of Amber Dudley emerge, the case becomes more odd.
At a bail hearing Thursday, prosecutors said phone records show that 32-year-old Kasey DeZolt actually lured a witness to Mechanics Avenue where a man tried to rob occupants of a car, resulting in Dudley’s death.
Prosecutors previously said co-defendant Dominique Richter “implicated herself and others” in the Nov. 30 murder, and that she organized the robbery“by her own admission.”
Other than that, officials have remained tight-lipped as detectives continue to search for Andrew Alston, who prosecutors say pulled the trigger that fateful night and remains on the run.
Dudley, a 27-year-old from Collingswood, was one of three passengers in a car when a man armed with a handgun tried to enter the rear of the vehicle on Mechanics Avenue. Officials say the suspect tried to rob the occupants of the car, which sparked a struggle between he and the passengers. The driver then sped away and the gunman fired a shot.
Amber Dudley
Dudley and two of her friends were being driven by a man providing rides through Lyft, which is a peer-to-peer ridesharing service similar to Uber. After Dudley was shot, the Lyft driver fled to TPD headquarters. It took about 20 minutes for law enforcement and EMS personnel to stabilize her before taking Dudley to the hospital, where she later died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
At DeZolt’s bail hearing Thursday, prosecutors said a witness in the car with Dudley told police DeZolt lured them to that location on Mechanics Avenue. Prosecutors did not disclose the nature of the meeting, but Assistant Prosecutor Michael Grillo said text messages and phone call records confirmed a witness was in communication with DeZolt prior to the botched robbery.
DeZolt’s defense attorney didn’t proffer much information, but requested a bail reduction due to her client’s nonexistent criminal record.
A judge reduced DeZolt’s bail to $500,000 cash or bond, partly because she had no prior criminal history and partly because Richter’s bail was lowered to that amount by a different judge earlier this week.
DeZolt, of Morrisville, Pa., and 31-year-old Richter, of Hamilton, are both charged with accomplice liability felony murder, accomplice liability robbery, accomplice liability unlawful possession of a weapon and accomplice liability possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose.
At the bail hearing, defense attorney Amber Forrester said DeZolt was employed at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton “up until recently.”
Richter also lists Capital Health Regional Medical Center as her employer on Facebook.