Aspiring Philly Teacher Killed for an iPod

June 17, 2008— -- Beau Zabel will never teach inner-city children in Philadelphia, a goal that prompted the 23-year-old to move from his small hometown of Austin, Minn., in May.

Zabel died around 1:30 a.m. early Sunday morning during an apparent robbery gone bad. Zabel was shot with a 9-millimeter handgun in the neck as he made the mile-and-a-half walk home from a part-time job at a South Philadelphia Starbucks. Zabel was pronounced dead at the scene.

"At this point we believe he was possibly followed at some point to be a victim of a robbery," Capt. James Clark, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department, told ABC News. "The robbery went terribly wrong."

The killer made off with just an iPod, leaving behind Zabel's backpack, which held his wallet and cash. Police think the iPod may have been the motive for the robbery.

"We believe his iPod was taken," Clark said, laying out the suspected motive. "From family and friends, he always has that and his pocket was turned inside out where he does keep it, so at this point we do believe an iPod was taken during this robbery."

Philadelphia police released surveillance video shot at two different businesses that they hope might help identify a suspect.

One video shows Zabel as he appears to buy a soda from a vending machine near the murder scene shortly before the slaying. The other shows an unidentified person who police think may be who they are looking for.

"We see a person running a little bit and then we see him acting strangely about a block from the scene," Clark said. "He puts something in a flower pot, we believe it was possibly a gun. We then see him walk back to the flower pot and put it back in his pants."

Authorities hope the public will help them identify and locate the person in the video so they can interview him about Zabel's murder.