Cris Barrish, Sean O'Sullivan, and Esteban Parra

While authorities have arrested two men for orchestrating the execution-style killings of a Talleyville auto-repair shop owner and his wife last September, police have not charged two "professional killers'' they contend put several bullets in each victim's head.

Those two alleged assassins, who court records said were known to charge the "going rate'' of $10,000 for a homicide, were identified as Co-Conspirator 1 and Co-Conspirator 2 in the arrest warrant made public Wednesday.

The unidentified gunmen, police wrote in the warrant, were hired by the shop owner's business partner, Christopher J. Rivers, and a gun felon named Joshua C. Bey, identified as a "past proven and reliable source'' for the FBI.

Bey, who has a long criminal history, had told an FBI agent in 2012 – nearly a year before the killings – that people "would pay'' the assassins to commit murders in Wilmington, and in cases where there "was a bounty on the victims,'' the gunmen "knew where to get paid.''

Court records did not identify the alleged gunman by name. Both men remain at large, law enforcement sources said, noting that unlike with some suspects, neither is in custody for unrelated charges.

Rivers, 31, of the 1200 block of Faun Road in Graylyn Crest, Brandywine Hundred, and Bey, 29, of the 1400 block of Chestnut St. in Wilmington, are being held without bail at Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington. Both face two counts of first-degree murder, criminal solicitation and even though police said they weren't at the murder scene, possession of firearms during the commission of a felony.

Rivers, part owner of C&S Automotive Repair on Concord Pike, and Bey, conspired with the two alleged hit men to take out Joseph Connell and his Russian wife Olga, police said. The couple were found riddled with bullets about 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 22 outside their condominium at Paladin Club in Edgemoor. Connell's mother called the killings a "massacre.''

New Castle County Police Chief Elmer Setting, who has called the Connell case one of his top priorities, said authorities continue pursuing the gunmen.

"We are finalizing the investigation and anyone else involved will be identified and arrested in the near future," Setting said. "We are very confident. If you are committing murder in New Castle County, we will be relentless in pursing you."

Attorney General Beau Biden's office would not comment about the fact that two alleged gunmen-for-hire believed to have killed the Connells and perhaps others in Wilmington's violent streets have not been charged.

Wilmington has has record shootings and homicides in recent years. Wilmington police Master Sgt. Donald Bluestein, the agency's spokesman, had no comment on the revelation in the warrant..

Thomas R. Reed, a professor emeritus at Widener Law School, said he suspects the alleged hit men "have found a way to leave town,'' but expects police to keep tracking them until they are caught.

Reed said he's not surprised Wilmington, 30 miles south of Philadelphia, has contract killers, but wonders why the FBI didn't catch the two men before the Connells were killed, and why they are still at large. "It's troubling that the FBI was aware of the existence of the individuals,'' he said. "The only question in my mind is whether the FBI had probable cause to make an arrest at that time.''

The FBI had no comment.

Court records in the Connell case detail an elaborate murder-for-hire scheme by Rivers, who police claim enlisted Bey in the plot to kill the couple, who had recently married.

The arrest warrant also hints at a possible motive – a nearly $1 million life insurance policy that Connell took out with Rivers as the sole beneficiary. Rivers and the business also faced more than $100,000 in liens, and the business and owners had "taken out numerous private loans," the warrant said.

Rivers and Bey, who appeared Wednesday before a magistrate, face a preliminary hearing in the Court of Common Pleas next Wednesday.

Millicent Keller, Joseph Connell's mother, thanked police and prosecutors in an interview Wednesday for "their persistence in finding the truth behind this horrific crime.

"Justice is now being served, but nothing will bring my son Joseph or his wife Olga back. How does a mother fill this hole in her heart?"

Rivers told The News Journal during a lengthy interview in October that he had nothing to do with the slayings, calling Connell "my best friend."

Joseph A. Hurley, Rivers' lawyer, said Wednesday that "given the intensity of the investigation, this was expected," adding that a prosecutor had told him "it will happen."

In June, as prosecutors pursued Rivers for the killings, he was arrested after allegedly turfing the lawn at county police headquarters in Minquadale, where he had arrived unannounced and asked to speak with someone whose name was redacted in court files reviewed Thursday.

Rivers arrived at police headquarters about 2 p.m. on June 6, and parked his truck across several parking spaces and went inside, where he identified himself at the desk, records show.

The court file does not say whether Rivers spoke to the person he was seeking, but said he left after about 40 minutes, got in his truck and accelerated onto the "grass lawn,'' where his truck caused about $500 damage before returning to the roadway. The incident was captured on police video and Rivers was arrested days later on one count of misdemeanor malicious mischief.

Rivers' complicated partnership

The murder arrest warrant dispels the notion of a robbery gone bad, noting that the Connells, both 39, were found slain with "all of their personal items," including jewelry, wallets, cellphones and car and house keys.Joseph Connell owned a luxury Mercedes sedan.

Shortly before the killings, the warrant said, Rivers' father gave him a $25,000 check that he thought was going to be used to dissolve the partnership with Connell. Rivers never told police about his intention to dissolve the business union, the warrant said.

A few days before the killings, Rivers withdrew $10,000 from a WSFS account, the warrant said, but the money could not be accounted for by reviewing his bank accounts.

Rivers also was addicted to "prescription medications and other illicit" drugs, the warrant said.

In conversations with witnesses, Rivers said he was involved in the murders, telling one, "You're never going to believe what I've done," the warrant said.

Before his arrest, Rivers had been free on $10,100 bail, facing felony drug charges stemming from the discovery of a cache of steroids in the shop's ceiling after the killings. Rivers had said in an interview that the drugs belonged to Connell, an avid bodybuilder.

When police interviewed Rivers after the murder, he told detectives Connell's "work performance had recently declined" and that his partner was frequenting expensive restaurants in Philadelphia, had recently bought the $100,000-plus Mercedes 2011 SL550 and "spent an extensive amount of cash," according to the warrant.

Rivers also had told several people interviewed by police of his "desire to dissolve his partnership" with Connell, police said.

The life insurance policy, valued at $977,500, was enough to completely satisfy the mortgage on C&S Automotive Repair. But Rivers, in conversations with witnesses, "denied the existence of such a policy," the warrant said.

Warrant: Cellphone data offers link to Bey

A detective who conducted a forensic exam of Rivers' iPhone 5 after Rivers consented found that "all call logs and text messages had been deleted," the warrant said.

The detective retrieved data from the phone, however, which revealed that Rivers had called "Josh's Cell Phone" seven times in the 10-minute period ending Sept. 22 at 12:05 a.m. – a little more than an hour before the killings, the warrant said.

The number also was listed in the state criminal justice computer system as one provided by Bey, whom an FBI agent identified as "a past proven and reliable source."

That agent, Shawn Haney, had interviewed Bey in November 2012, the warrant said. Bey told Haney and Wilmington police Sgt. Martin Lenhart at the time that "if a person wanted to hire professional killers," they would hire the assassins, identified in the warrant only as Unnamed Co-Conspirators 1 and 2, or "UC-1" and "UC-2."

The "going rate for a homicide was $10,000," the warrant said.

Court records show that Bey has numerous previous felony convictions in state and federal court.

Last October, Bey was charged with making a false statement to investigators probing the Connell murders. That case was set for trial Wednesday but instead was dismissed, and Bey was arrested for murder.

Records: Bey changes his story

Court records state Bey told police he knew Rivers because Rivers worked on his car but insisted they did not socialize. Rivers was listed as "Auto-Chris" on Bey's cellphone contacts, records showed.

Bey also denied calling Rivers shortly before the murders, saying he must have "accidentally pocket dialed" him.

Bey later "suggested that perhaps Rivers was supposed to work on his vehicle" that evening but failed to show up, prompting the phone calls, court records said.

At an Oct. 24 interview, Bey changed his story again and claimed he had contacted Rivers "to facilitate a drug transaction" and lied earlier "because he was on probation and did not want to have his probation violated," police claim in court records.

Bey told police he was working the night of the killings at Kohl's department store off Concord Pike from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., an alibi police later confirmed, court records showed.

Police also determined that Rivers was at his home at the time of the slayings, but detectives kept "investigating whether Joseph and Olga Connell were murdered at the direction of Rivers," court records showed.

On the night of Sept. 22, while the Connells were at a bar celebrating a friend's birthday, Joseph Connell and Rivers exchanged numerous text messages from 10:52 to 11:38 p.m. that centered on Connell's "whereabouts and when he was going to leave," the warrant said.

At 11:38, Connell wrote that he would be staying "an hour at the most," and Rivers responded that he was coming, though he never arrived, the warrant said. Instead, Rivers contacted Bey, police said.

Documents: Two men kept track of Bey

A forensic review of Bey's iPhone also found Bey had called a Metro PCS phone number 18 times between 3:29 p.m. Sept. 21, 2013, and 2:59 p.m. Sept. 22, 2013. The Metro PCS number called Bey 24 times.

Police visited the address listed for that Metro PCS number and spoke to a woman who told police she would not have used the phone to call Bey, but that her boyfriend frequently used the phone. Court documents identified the boyfriend as "UC-1," the man "referenced in Joshua Bey's interview" with the FBI and Wilmington police whom he would hire as an assassin, court documents said.

Investigators learned that UC-1's phone called UC-2's phone number seven times between 5:59 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. the night before the killing. In turn, UC-2 called UC-1 three times during that time.

Bey called or was called by UC-1 a total of 42 times from 3:29 p.m. on Sept. 21 through 3:04 p.m. on Sept. 22, the warrant said.

Court records also suggest the two unnamed men kept track of Bey. According to court records, the two were in the same New Castle County Superior Court courtroom where Bey had a violation of probation hearing on Nov. 19, 2013.

"Neither UC-1 nor UC-2 had a hearing in the courtroom," the documents said, but they "were observed speaking to the mother and girlfriend of Joshua Bey," and both "left the courthouse immediately after Joshua Bey's hearing was rescheduled."

While Bey was imprisoned for the probation violation, investigators monitoring his phone calls heard someone tell Bey that "your mechanic dropped off money for your lawyer."

Police reviewed that person's phone records and found more than 200 "calls and text messages" with Rivers, the warrant said.

Witnesses speak to investigators

One witness told police that Rivers "indicated he was responsible for the death of Joseph and Olga Connell, but 'not 100 percent.' "

Another witness told investigators that a month before the killings, Rivers had complained that Joseph Connell was ruining the business. Rivers also said Connell took "large amounts of money from the business accounts for personal use. Additionally, he would often not show up for work on time or leave early."

This same witness told investigators Rivers told him "he was going to have Josh 'take care of' " Connell. This witness said Bey would "visit the shop frequently."

Yet another witness described a conversation with Rivers in which he said, "you're never going to believe what I've done. You won't like me when you find out."

Contact Cris Barrish at (302) 324-2785, cbarrish@delawareonline.com or on Facebook. Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @parra3. Contact Sean O'Sullivan at (302) 324-2777 or sosullivan@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SeanGOSullivan.