Schieber's family to sue Phila., police

The slain student's parents claim police officers mishandled a 911 call the night of her death. The parents of Shannon Schieber -- the first-year Wharton doctoral student who was found strangled to death in her Center City apartment in May -- plan to file suit today against the city and the Philadelphia Police Department, accusing them of mishandling the emergency call that originally brought police to her door. Although the investigation has continued for five months without any arrests, Vicki and Sylvester Schieber, of Chevy Chase, Md., are not suing the police because of that failure. Instead, the family accuses the police of failing to follow up after receiving reports of someone screaming in Schieber's apartment, according to their attorney, David Rudovsky. "The police said that that they heard someone screaming, but the police failed to follow up on that," said Rudovsky, who is also a senior fellow at the Penn Law School. The Schiebers will hold an 11 a.m. press conference today at Rudovsky's Center City office to detail the lawsuit. Schieber, who friends and colleagues have described as well-liked and very intelligent, was found naked in her second-floor apartment near the corner of 23rd and Spruce Streets at about 2 p.m. on May 7, approximately 12 hours after she was killed. Police found a necklace, a pen set, a camera and a large number of compact discs missing from Schieber's apartment at the time of the murder. City and police officials could not be reached immediately for comment. Vicki Schieber declined to comment until today's press conference. Upon hearing screams coming from Schieber's room at about 2 a.m., a neighbor across the hall allowed police officers responding to his call to leave the scene after inspecting the exterior of the apartment and banging on the door. At the time, Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney said the officers acted properly. Police officials had reviewed the officers' actions and also found that it was not clear that the screams had come from Schieber's apartment. Several leads have come up empty. Originally, police reportedly suspected a former boyfriend Schieber complained had stalked her, but DNA tests cleared him of any involvement. Police have since also ruled out an aggravated assault at 14th and Lombard Streets as a related crime. Detectives have interviewed and fingerprinted more than 100 suspects and tested the DNA of 41 others, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday. About 80 students and faculty members attended a memorial service last month for Schieber. She was one of four doctoral students in Wharton's Insurance and Risk Management program, which sponsored the service. Schieber was remembered for her community service; she tutored inner-city children and ran a campaign to restore programs eliminated due to budget cuts. She graduated from Duke University in 1995 with a triple major in mathematics, economics and philosophy.