PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The suspect charged with murdering 23-year-old Philadelphia woman Kada Scott was ordered to be held for trial after an emotional preliminary hearing Monday.
Keon King, 21, has been held without bail since his arrest on October 15.
He’s charged with murder, kidnapping and assault.
Scott disappeared on October 4.
After an intensive search that made national headlines, Scott’s body was found two weeks later in a shallow grave behind the vacant Ada Lewis Middle School in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood.
RELATED: Kada Scott case: Timeline of investigation into missing Philadelphia woman
Action News reporter TaRhonda Thomas was in court for the hearing on Monday. She said King looked quite a bit different from the way he did in his mug shot. He had a haircut and no longer had dreadlocks.
He wore a cardigan and a button-down shirt, and the judge allowed King’s handcuffs to be removed as he sat in court.
Kada Scott’s family members filled part of the courtroom in a show of support.
During the hearing, a former co-worker of Scott testified that on the night of Scott’s disappearance, Scott got a phone call right when she arrived for her overnight shift at 10 p.m.
According to the co-worker, Scott said something to the effect of “I can’t believe you’re calling me.”
Scott had tears in her eyes and appeared scared, the co-worker testified.
Prosecutors revealed evidence that pointed to Keon King as the person who made that 43-second phone call. Investigators also revealed evidence that King and Scott had been texting in a way that suggested they’d planned to meet up that evening.
The co-worker reported seeing an SUV that later disappeared from the parking lot, with lawyers trying to connect that to King.
In court, several investigators testified about Keon King’s cell phone records, showing he was in the vicinity of Scott’s job as well as the school where her body was found.
They also showed surveillance video that showed two people at a recreation center near the school. Prosecutors alleged that King parked a stolen car there with Scott’s body inside for more than 30 hours.
Surveillance video shown in court showed two people removing something that appeared to be heavy from that car.
Meanwhile, another witness testified that she ordered two Ubers for King after the murder.
Investigators showed graphic photos of Scott on the day she was found in a shallow grave on the property of the vacant Ada Lewis Middle School after earlier searches both there and at Awbury Arboretum came up empty.
They went into detail about tips they received, telling them to search the school, even after they searched the inside and didn’t find anything.
They received a tip that said go back, search again, and search the outside.
Photos were shown of the shallow grave Scott was buried in. It was so disturbing that some of her family members left the court, some of them in tears and gasping as they saw photos of Kada.
Scott’s phone, iPad, and Apple Watch were never found. But investigators testified that they used an old iPad to gain her Apple ID and trace those devices on the night she disappeared.
Attorneys for King, meanwhile, argued that prosecutors show no evidence connecting him to the actual crime.
RELATED: Suspect charged with murder in death of Philadelphia woman Kada Scott; new details revealed
King was ordered to return to court for an arraignment on Feb. 23.
Following her murder, the Scott family has established a foundation in Kada’s name on what would have been her 24th birthday.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.