Neighbors mourn for slain Manayunk woman

It was an eerily quiet scene along Markle Street in Manayunk Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the fatal shooting of Lynda Karlin-Mitros.

The front entrance of her house was barricaded with plastic and biohazard tape, while two homicide cleanup workers guarded the door.

City police say Karlin-Mitros, 64, was shot one time in the head by her husband Gregory Mitros, 52, after the two had an argument on Monday afternoon. Mitros reported the shooting to police around 4:30 p.m. and was charged with murder on Tuesday morning. Police say he was taken to jail with no bail amount because the crime was a capital offense. 

Down the block, a dozen of Karlin-Mitros’ neighbors gathered at Vaccarelli’s East End Tavern, one of her favorite hangouts, to mourn the death of their good friend.

Lisa Hammer lived nearby and said she has known the couple for more than 20 years.

“Lynda was a great person, good cook, always invited you in just to hang out with her,” she said.

Hammer was in her home at the time of the shooting but said she didn’t hear a gunshot.

John Vaccarelli, owner of East End Tavern, said he had no idea what happened behind closed doors at the Mitros residence on Monday night.

“This is totally out of context for him,” he said. “Gregory’s not that type of person. He’s one of the happiest guys in the world. I’ve been friends with Greg his whole life and now my best friend is going to jail.”

The group said Mitros was originally planning to have a barbecue for all of the neighbors on Monday night.

Before learning that Mitros was charged with murder, Sue Boehm, the bartender at Vaccarelli’s, said she was confident that Greg didn’t commit the crime.

“I don’t think they’re gonna find him guilty,” she stated matter-of-factly.

 Heather Lowther, a patron, nodded, adding “There wasn’t a harmful bone in his body.”

NewsWorks will continue to follow this story as it develops.