and she's on trial for the heinous crimes behind the death of her adopted daughter. today sarah packer back inside a bucks county courtroom. could she get the death penalty ♪ >> live from center city in philadelphia this is fox 29 news at 6:00. talk about wild weather day. drivers heading home are having a much easier go of it in south philadelphia than the drive in this morning. >> same goes for trenton. no problems on the roads right now. for people heading home, the weekend, but that's big change from earlier today. take a look at this time lapsed video that shows just how bad the visibility was at times this morning over a six-hour period the snow didn't stick to roads,& but poor visibility did cause a few crashes. clearly, winter not ready to call it quits just yet. good evening everyone, i'm chris o'connell. >> i'm dawn timmeney. your weather authority said it could get messy and, boy, were

they right. this is just how hard it was snowing late this morning on market street in old city. in wayne we got over 4-inches when you looked out of the studio windows it was kind of like we were in a snow globe. and now we're talking bitter cold temperatures. monica cryan is here to tell us how long winter will be sticking around. >> guys, we can catch a break. one the snow is gone, now we're really filtering in some of that colder air. let's talk snowfall totals very quickly. pennsylvania saw the most amount of snow. anywhere from four to 5-inches like in huffs church. 5.2-inches. horsham 4-inches they saw 4-inches and chesterbrook and chester county 3.7-inches. it was really a wet snow that was kind of heavy to shovel if you did have to shovel any of it off before it really did melt on your sidewalks and on those roadways. ultimate doppler showing us that we do have a few scattered snow squalls that can still cause some problems because it could really reduce visibility and

catch some drivers off guard. where we are seeing some of that snow through allentown, back into lehigh. the lehigh valley. and into new jersey as well. and you can also see 476 up into montgomery county, experiencing some snow be aware that this is going to be a problem through the next few hours as well as refreeze through the overnight as temperatures are dropping into the 20s and guys unfortunately we have more snow in the forecast on tuesday. that forecast is coming up. >> all right, thank you monica. whether you're headed to the st. patrick's day parade this weekend or to the pocono mountains take the authority with you with the fox 29 weather app. it's available for apple and android devices. well, investigators are looking into what caused a schoolbus crash in wilmington. fresco user ronald romeo shows us the scene from this morning. fire officials say a dump truck crashed into the bus that was heading to the delaware school for the deaf. one child and two adults on the bus, they were hurt. two people in the dump truck were also injured.

they are all going to be okay. happening now, prosecutors in bucks county signal they may seek the death penalty in a horrendous murder case that shocked our region. sarah packer and her boyfriend are charged in the rape, murder and dismemberment of packer's adopted daughter grace. the case began as a missing person's report. >> but details laid out in court documents reveal the sadistic torture of this 14-year-old girl. bruce gordon is just back from the courthouse in doylestown and joins us live in the studio. such a horrick case, bruce. >> reporter: unbelievable. hard to read about, hard to hear about. for the record sarah packer pleaded not guilty today to the laundry list of charges she fa faces most notablily murder but the headline from this brief formal rain many the possibility that prosecutors will seek to put sarah packer to death. in the courtroom as in this mug shot sarah packer came across as meek, passive even frail. nothing like the monster described by prosecutors who

have now notified the court they may seek the death penalty. since the killing of grace packer came during the commission of a felony and was committed by means of torture. >> is this the kind of case that dreams death penalty. >> obviously the facts are terrible. but we are obligated to look at this with a legal perspective. >> prosecutors say sara packer conspired with her boyfriend jacob sullivan to kill her 14-year-old adopted daughter watched sullivan beat and rape the teen, helped hide her daughter's body. bought the saw used to dismember that body. then lied to investigators looking no what they thought was a missing person's case. grace packer's death story abuse and neglect shown a harsh spotlight on the inn adequacy of pennsylvania's foster care and adoptions oversight. in january, sympathetic strangers organized a memorial service designed to show grace the dignity in death she had never received in life. the girl's biological mother there was for the tribute. >> what would you like people to

know about your daughter. >> that her memory and her smile will never fade away. >> reporter: court documents state jacob sullivan confessed to squeezing the life out of the nearly unconscious teen defense attorneys for sarah packer may hang their hat on that admissi admission. >> certainly the the allegation in this case are very serious and horrific. but i would point out that what was said from the beginning, we don't believe they'll ever be any evidence that my client killed anybody. >> reporter: and keith williams told reporters he may seek to move the trial or at least jury selection out of bucks county. due to pretrial publicity that has generated so much outrage. >> look what i'm looking at right now all these cameras. all these reporters much that's a challenge in any criminal defense when you get so much scrutiny. >> reporter: there's no guarantee the case against sarah packer will actually go to trial. attorney williams today suggesting they may seek a plea bargain in her case. per co-defendant jacob sullivan is set to be formally arraigned on the 31st of this month. dawn? >> all right, bruce, thank you. now to phoenixville where

there are still big questions tonight following a fatal fire there this morning. firefighters respond to go the 500 block of valley forge road about 9:00 o'clock this morning. when crews arrived, they fought names on the third floor. they got it under control quickly but they found one person dead in the room where the fire started. they are not yet identifying the victm as the investigation continues. now to developing story out of delaware county. a woman held up at gun point at a quiet apartment complex this sounds familiar to you, it definitely sounds familiar to police. this frightening attack happened in glenn mills. >> but it has police looking across state lines for possible clues. fox 29's jeff cole joining us live now from the state police barracks in media with the sto story. jeff? >> reporter: dawn, there are three attacks in delaware now one here in delaware county. regional police are talking to each other, and investigating. on a winter morning the madison apartment homes glenn mills

delco were quiet. late season scenic but there's concern here, fear that a gun toting attacker will return. >> you put that lock on. >> oh yeah yeah yeah yeah. >> nick natale his door lock ready and travels in pairs. >> everybody is scared, you know. we don't know what to do, you know, we ask just got to keep the doors lock and travel in twos or threes, you know, the best thing you can. >> reporter: it was tuesday night just after 7:00, when a 65-year-old woman approached her door. >> there was an elderly female that was entering her home. at that time unknown male approached that the elderly lady with a handgun. >> reporter: she fought off her masked assailant and was unhurt. but residents have made the uncomfortable potential link to three attacks in nearby delawa delaware. >> we hope it's just isolated incident. whether it's related to the stuff that's been happening in delaware, who knows? copycat.

>> reporter: those tax have come recent until new castle county. in two of them, women were kidnapped, sexually assaulted and force to do withdrawal money and hand it over. >> we have been in contact with delaware. however, at this time we cannot say that this is connected with delaware. so at this point we don't know that. >> reporter: owners of the complex off coventry lane sent this letter to residents warning of an armed assault it you weres residents to use caution coming and going. some here will not have to be told twice. >> i'm kind of like shocked because it's in an area in glenn mills and you never think something like that would happen he is earl special until in a community like this. >> reporter: police don't seem to have too much to go on. no video. no drawing and not much on the car. if there even was one but they say they are working the evidence though that. jeff cole, fox 29 news. >> chris? >> jeff, thanks. a high school hockey game turns into a massive brawl on the ice.

several people shot video of the fights posted it online getting hundreds of comments and shares. as you can see, it gets nasty on the ice. all went down in hatfield montgomery county. police say two players were hurt. one of them taken to the hospital. his injuries not life threatening. police are investigating and asking anyone with video of that brawl to contact them. president trump's first 100 days and tonight it's republicans fighting against each other. the gop's plan for health care has moved forward in another congressional house committee but not without opposition within the party. some of the more conservative republicans say the new health care plan is too much like president obama signature health care law the affordable care a act. they advocate putting forward a plan that eliminates the obama care entitlements but others caution that voting against funding for those with pre-existing conditions would not go over well at all with voters. gop leaders are hoping to push the health care bill through

congress before the east recess in april. meanwhile, pennsylvania governor tom wolf was in town today speaking out against the gop health care plan. he told a crowd of the center in the park in northwest philadelphia that proposed plan would allow insurance companies to charge seniors five times more than others. he says 700,000 people are in jeopardy of losing health care. >> we need to be concerned about anything that changes what we have right now. is it perfect, no. but there are hundreds of thousands of pennsylvanians who get health care and have access to health care who will not --& who's access will be jeopardized if this goes through. >> on wednesday, the governor sent a letter to congressman on two u.s. house committees urging them to reject that plan. well tonight the curtain rises on local high school production of rag time. why this show almost didn't go on.

and it might be cold outside but there's a sure sign of spring at the convention center this weekend. and ron burke has look at sports. welcome. >> thank you very much dawn. eagles are committed to combine $29 million to two new free agent wide receivers. more than money drew jeffrey and smith to philadelphia. we'll tell was that was coming you. question, are my teeth yellow? ...have you tried the tissue test? ugh, yellow... what do you use? crest whitestrips crest 3d whitestrips whiten... 25 times better than a leading whitening toothpaste

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we are just one day away from a big deal here in philly. from the 2017 philadelphia knauer show at pennsylvania convention center we were live this morning for a sneak peek this year's theme is holland flowering the world celebrating dutch culture and of course flowers of the european country this amazing show i heard this one is spectacular. it will be open until march 19th. can't wait to check it out. happening right now, it's opening night in cherry hill for controversial high school showing of rag time it set off a big debate earlier this year on

the district's decision to cut a racial slur out of the performance followed by a reversal of that decision from the superintendent. fox 29' is that so bone in a kuriakose is in cherry hill for opening night. is a ben in a. >> reporter: dawn, show time is in about an hour and a half here at cherry hill high school east. this is culmination as you mentioned of sometimes painful discussion and debate within the community that has gone on since about january. now rag time is musical that is set in the early 20th century and it includes several utterances of the n word. now the superintendent initially cut the word from the school version. district reversed that decision after community debate. the controversy garnered national attention right here on to cherry hill. now parents and students we spoke with tonight say they're happy with the dialogue over the history and emotion behind that slur that has been promoted by all of this. >> i just toll her it's not a word that she should use but during the time that the play takes place it was something

that they used. so it's not acceptable to use it in our household. >> i think it's good informative play that all of us should be a part of. lining african-americans and the whites. we shall all take part in it. watch it. we can really learn something from it. >> reporter: as you heard from the kids there, and the parents there talking about how all of this dialogue has moved from the school and actually into their own homes and the superintendent has posted a letter to parents say that he appreciates the support from the community that the district has received and he says district hopes to be able to teach difficult subject matter in a safe way. now again show time at 7:30. the show runs through next week. chris and dawn, back to you. >> thank you sabina. preparations for st. patrick's day in full swing. today in delaware the mayor of wilmington helped paint a green stripe on king street to celebrate the holiday and mark the route of tomorrow's parade there. don't forget you can watch the parade here in philadelphia right here on fox 29 sunday at

noon. we'll all be out there marching. >> may be a cold one out there. back to your fox 29 weather authority. skiers might want to make up for lot of time. look at that. nice powder on the slopes as we take live look at camelback mountain in the poconos. of course, this weather good for skiers, finally, right. >> yeah. i'm ready to hit the slopes but for those who were ready for spring, you'll have to wait a bit, hahn nikau. >> locks hick we'll have to wait a long time. the next seven days really don't get our 30s. spoiler alert for that seven day forecast. 36 degrees right now in philadelphia. you can see those normal westerly winds picking someone speed at about 15 miles an hour. making it feel more like we're into the upper 20s. so here's the wind chill across the region. if you are stepping outdoors for tonight maybe heading out to dinner make sure to bundle up it feels like 21 in pottstown and in allentown we're at 21. it also feels like 25 degrees in wildwood. notice these wind particles you can see them really kind of screaming out of the northwest.

and that's the direction bringing in that colder air and also bringing in some of those scattered snow squalls. we'll be dealing with this for the next few hours. just so you know. kind of zoom in there. and you can see through the garden state parkway, through beach haven that's where we have a snow squall pushing off into the at atlantic tick and back behind it, one moving through abington this is much more isolated smaller not as strong of snow but still it's going to be bringing some more snow as we head through the next few hours. here you can see your future cast. i'll put this into motion for you. we'll be seeing some snow squalls at least through nine, 10:00 o'clock in the evening. and then through the overnight, this starts to move out. we clear out so that tomorrow morning we have nice sunshine to look forward. to your saturday morning very sunny, we'll see partly clown deed conditions at least through saturday. and into sunday for your st. patrick's day parade you can see around 9:00 o'clock people are going to be starting to fill in to the parade route. temperatures at about 24 degre 24 degrees. noontime when the parade kicks off it will be still into the

20s. so again does look like a chilly forecast. 36 is your high under partly cloudy conditions within won't be problem for the parade that's got news. only looking at ten to 15 miles per hour winds. what we do have to keep an eye on a system arriving monday night into tuesday. we're on the cold side of this. it could be bringing some of the biggest snow we've seen this season. so make sure to keep it tuned monday night into tuesday looks like the timing and the setup for this system. overnight, low 20s in the city. teens into the suburbs. but don't forget about that wind chill. feeling more like single digits. here's a look at that seven day forecast. unfortunately, temperatures pretty monotonous night 30's, mid 30's through sunday. 37 degrees as we head into monday. look at tuesday. there's that potential snowsto snowstorm. 36 degrees. even overnight cold guys into the 20's. >> all right. don't put that snow shovel away. >> thanks monica. >> up next newell al inquired fox 29 free agent ron burke here with sports. welcome aboard. >> chris thank you so much.

>> dawn, pleasure. >> great to be with you guys. everybody has been so welcoming thanks for having me. >> absolutely. >> great week for free agents as we saw at the novacare complex. eagles welcoming their new players to team. you'll cher of hear from al sean jeffrey on the many ways he can help this football team. also villanova won it all last year. the current team is on the same mission. we'll hear about the bond that draws them together. (vo) shop all makes, models and colors in your neighborhood...

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♪ the eagles introduce the two knew wide receivers today. players that should dramatically improve unit that struggled to

even catch the ball at times in recent years. how hard has that been to watch. alshon jeffery made the pro bowl in 2013. big preference they lack since the days of terrell owen. torry smith signed and cut by the 49ers this week. he's a speed guy something the offense sorely missed since desean jackson left. receivers have connections to eagles coaches and front office staff which factors strong fool these signings. >> when you know the guy really well, when people have been around them, seeing how they are in the building, on the practice field, um, in the metering room, it's a huge advantage. and we feel like we know our players really well because of that. >> jeffery is 27. he was the most sought after refer in free agency. his role in philadelphia will be to make big plays also being a positive influence on the young players around him. >> young guys they always need some help. help them along the way. everyone needs someone to help them. you don't come in already like

you need a little help. someone got to help you out here and there. >> villanova basketball continuing its play in the big east tournament 6:30 tip. the opponent seton hall these two share recent history in the tournament that if not go wildcats way. last year at the garden the pirates beat the cats in the tournament champion shim game. nova went on to win the national title. matchup tonight with very clear memries of that defeat and the cats are focused on getting the job done no matter what the ga game. >> we have a team full of competitive guys. you put us in front of a checker board we want to win. we do want to win. obviously that gives you a little bit more motivation much that's not what you lean on much that's not what you depend on. you run out of that. after you get it what do you run off of? >> nova seeking a spot in the big east title game tomorrow evening. you can watch it right here on fox 29 coverage at 5:00 o'clock. dealing with smart snowfall phillies sunny clearwater to face the yankees top of the first clay buchholz pitch ends

up being three run homerun to right for run chase headley phillies drop this one, five to nothing. >> so the phils about three weeks away from the opener guys. of course the eagles dominating with moves this week. >> thanks, ron. >> all right. he's a well-known on the campus of one local university. spending his days serving up bagels and smiles but he has serious medical problem. what the community is doing for him that brought him to tears. >> that does it for us here tonight at 6:00 o'clock. we'll see you back here at 10:0. inside edition is up next. ♪ why are you deleting these photos?

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>> the little girl everyone is talking about. gone with the wind. exclusive. here she is. >> give us a muscle. she is super strong. then -- >> i am samantha bee. >> the shocking tv blunder. she mocked his haircut. >> nazi hair. nazi hair. >> but she didn't snow he has stage 4 brain cancer. >> just lost everything. and mayhem on the highway. growing outrage over what these bikers did the motorist. >> is there anything that the person could have done differently, then, what were they thinking? the mom in hot water over this stunt gone wrong. i take full respoib