Police Make 2nd Arrest In Old City Hotel Murder

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police have made a second arrest in connection to the murder of a Chester County man whose body was discovered after a fire at a posh Old City hotel late last month.

Richard Collins, 20, was arrested Monday and has been charged with Criminal Conspiracy, Theft, Abuse of a Corpse and related offenses in the October 30th death of Patrick Brady.

According to police, Brady had been robbed, beaten, and strangled inside the Omni Hotel located in the 400 block of Chestnut Street.

Earlier this month, transgender prostitute Herman Burton was arrested in connection to the death of the 49-year-old Brady. Burton was arrested by police on November 4 with some of Brady's belongings in his possession, police said at the time.

Police say the hotel surveillance video shows Brady checking into the hotel Friday evening.

Capt. Clark explained, "Sometime between Friday evening and Saturday morning, he led an unidentified male into his room. For whatever reason, there was an extreme physical altercation inside of the room."

At a news conference on November 4, police identified that male as Burton.

"We don't know how it got the point where he entered the room. We don't know was it a prior contact? Was it a phone call? Only thing we know is that at some point, the defendant showed up at his room, was obviously led in, there was no force through the door," Capt. Clark said.

Brady's body was found in an eighth-floor room of the Omni Hotel. Police say the room was intentionally set ablaze by Burton to cover up the crime.

The entire 14-story building was evacuated, but the fire was confined to Brady's room.

Brady, who worked in the information technology department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, would at times stay at the Omni Hotel instead of commuting back home to Chester County. He leaves behind a wife and a nine-year-old daughter.