BethAnn Weinstein-Rubenstein had stopped into the twin house on Bergen Street in Fox Chase to take care of her daughter’s pets.
Her daughter, Jill Millman, 35, who is on the autism spectrum, was supposed to be at work. This past summer, she had finally landed a job she enjoyed, as a prep cook at the Dining Car.
“She found her niche,” Millman’s stepfather, Bob Rubenstein, said. “She wanted to be a chef.”
However, when Weinstein-Rubenstein went upstairs to feed Millman’s guinea pigs on Wednesday, Nov. 6, she made a gruesome discovery.
“Her bathroom light was on, and I couldn’t understand why the light was on because she was supposed to be working,” Weinstein-Rubenstein said. “I found her laying on her bathroom floor.”
Millman was found dead, lying naked on the floor and covered in blood, Chief Inspector Scott Small said. She had been stabbed numerous times throughout her body, especially in her back, he said.
Police on Friday arrested Arthur Caesar, 30, of the 600 block of Edison Avenue in Somerton, and he was charged with murder, robbery, obstruction, tampering with evidence and possessing instruments of crime.
Caesar is being held without bail at the jail complex on State Road in Holmesburg. In 2010, he was sentenced to two years probation for misdemeanor assault, according to court records.
There was no word on a possible motive.
Officers were called to the scene just before 5:30 p.m., and medical personnel pronounced Millman several minutes later. It’s not clear exactly when she was stabbed, Small said.
Millman lived at the house on the 800 block of Bergen Street, and Weinstein-Rubenstein split her time between the house and another property in Somerton.
“This is a very quiet neighborhood,” Small said hours after Millman’s body was discovered. “This specific street is very quiet.”
Millman loved to read and could frequently be found at Fox Chase Library, family said. She also loved animals, cooking and movies.
“Jill was bubbly,” Weinstein-Rubenstein said. “She was a very kind person. She loved everybody.”
The family has started a GoFundMe page to cover her funeral expenses. Through Tuesday, it had raised more than $3,600 with a goal of $10,000. ••
