Kylen Pratt guilty of murdering Naasire Johnson

A North Philadelphia man who prosecutors say fatally shot his lover before burning his body and leaving the charred remains in Fairmount Park in 2022 was found guilty of first-degree murder Friday, authorities said.

After a jury convicted 23-year-old Kylen Pratt of first-degree murder, abuse of corpse and related crimes in the killing of Naasire Johnson, Judge Giovanni Campbell sentenced Pratt to life in prison without the possibility of parole, followed by a consecutive term of four and a half years up to 9 years, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office said.

An attorney for Pratt could not immediately be reached.

Johnson's killing in February 2022 was one of the most heinous cases that Assistant District Attorney Cydney Pope, who led the prosecution, had seen, she said at a news conference on Monday. Johnson's body was so charred and burned when investigators found it at Glendinning Rock Park that they couldn't immediately determine whether the remains were human, she said.

It took investigators a week to identify the body as Johnson's, Pope said.

“That body was the most badly burned body I have ever seen,” Pope said. “It was worse than any body I've ever seen in an arson fire. In a house.”

Pratt and Johnson had a sexual relationship, prosecutors said, and Pratt lured Johnson to his Brewerytown home with a plan: kill Johnson to prevent him from revealing their relationship.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Pope said. “This was a hate crime.”

“This is a person who was killed because he was gay,” she added. “And because the man who killed him didn’t want anyone to know that he was in a relationship with him or had sex with other men. Plain and simple. It is absolutely one of the most heinous crimes I have ever prosecuted.”

Prosecutors say Johnson went to Pratt's home in the 2900 block of Oxford Street on the night of Feb. 17, 2022, where Pratt shot him in the neck, killing him. Pratt then took Johnson's body to a secluded cobblestone path in Fairmount Park, where his body was found three days later, badly charred, wrapped in plastic and a bed sheet, Pope said.

The next month, a tip from an anonymous caller led police to Pratt, who was known to Johnson's family as 29th Street Rich, Pope said. Pratt was jailed at the time on unrelated charges.

Cellphone records showed Pratt was with Johnson the night of his murder and that Pratt was on the trail in Fairmount Park at the time police believed they set Johnson's body on fire, Pope said.

During a search of Pratt's home, police found a bedroom carpet that had been cleaned with bleach, Pope said. The carpet was cleaned so thoroughly that investigators had to dig under the carpet to the upholstery and hardwood floors, which were soaked with Johnson's blood, she said.

Police also recovered a 9mm gun, which provided forensic evidence linking Pratt to the crime, prosecutors said.

Investigators discovered internet searches on Pratt's phone seeking news coverage of Johnson's death. Evidence from Pratt's phone also showed he conducted searches such as “cold-blooded murder,” “sex with corpses” and “traits of a psychopath,” Pope said.

Pratt's conviction and sentencing provided a bit of closure for the family, said Hakeen Pitts, one of Johnson's cousins ​​and an interfaith minister. But the impact of the crime continues to be felt long afterward, he said.

“These types of crimes are not just isolated tragedies. They infect entire communities,” Pitts said. “LGBTQIA people, particularly Black and brown people, members of our community, suffer profound psychological and physical health impacts.”

Cynthia Johnson, Johnson's grandmother, raised Johnson since he was one year old. Surrounded by her family at Monday's press conference, Johnson's grandmother remembered her “lovable” grandson, who had just graduated from Architecture and Design Charter High School and planned to go to community college.

A slideshow of photos slowly flashed back moments from Johnson's life. A party as a young boy, smiling next to a relative. A photo of an older Johnson posing in a gray suit and bow tie. And a photo of him wearing his graduation cap and gown and smiling while holding a sign that reads “Class of 2019.”

“Everyone liked him. “Nobody could say anything bad about him,” she said through tears. “My heart is so torn into so many pieces.”