22 April 6, 2020TOP: JESSICA GRIFFIN /THE PHILADELPHIAINQUIRERVIA AP; BOTTOM: GOOGLEPhiladelphiaM
ichael white, a 20-year-old uber eats courier, was
riding his bicycle along the intersection of 17th and
Chancellor here when he came upon three men in a
Mercedes-Benz shouting at a fellow courier. When
White attempted to intervene, the other courier fled,
leaving White as the target of the three men’s anger. One of them,
Sean Schellenger, a 37-year-old real estate developer, chased him
into an alley; after a scuffle, White emerged with a knife covered in
Schel lenger’s blood. Schellenger was pronounced dead at Thomas
Jefferson University hospital on July 12, 2018, at 11:21 pm.
White surrendered to the police 16 hours later and was
charged with first-degree murder and possession of an instrumentWhen a black bike courier was charged with the murder of a
wealthy white property developer, the outcome seemed a foregone
conclusion. Only this case didn’t turn out that way.STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA
JUSTICE ON THE
ERNEST OWENS
The content of his
character: Michael
White leaving court
in Philadelphia,
where he was tried
for the killing of
Sean Schellenger..17th and
Chancellor: The
fateful intersection
in Philadelphia’s
Rittenhouse Square
neighborhood..