2013 Camden Homicide Total Climbs to 54

Camden's homicide rate might not reach the record set last year, but the city has tied its third-highest mark ever after two killings this weekend.

A Camden man and a Franklinville man who police found dead at 33rd and Farragut streets Saturday morning are the 53rd and 54th homicides of 2013, making this just the third year in the last two decades where the city has reached at least 54 killings.

Jose Vega, 35, and Christopher Humphrey, 34, were both found shot to death around 8:45 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Apart from last year's record-setting rate—the city saw its 59th killing, which broke the old record, in November, and eventually reached 67 homicides—the two killings tie the city's 2008 homicide total for the third-most ever, the only other time there have been more than 50 killings in one year since the city set a record with 58 in 1995.

Authorities also reported finding the remains of an unidentified man off Route 676 Friday; the cause of death in that case has not been determined, and authorities said the body could've been there as long as a year.

Anyone with information about Saturday's shootings is asked to contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Detective John Hunsinger at 609-548-1056 or Camden County Police Detective Edward Kunkel at 856-757-7420. Information can also be emailed to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org.