Maggie Haines woke up inside her  Manheim Township bedroom Saturday morning to "a noise, a scuffling sound."

The 20-year-old woman got up to investigate and went into her mother's room, where she saw her sitting on the edge of the bed.

Behind her mother she saw her father lying on the bed.

"Go get help," she would later recall her mother telling her in a quiet, low voice.

Maggie ran across the street for help, calling 911 from a neighbor's house. The call was recorded at 2:24 a.m.

Within five minutes, police arrived at the Blossom Hill development and went inside the Haines home at 85 Peach Lane.

Thomas Haines, 50, and his wife, Lisa, 47, were dead in the bedroom. The couple's 16-year-old son, Kevin, was dead in the upstairs hallway.

They all had been stabbed to death.

This morning, Manheim Township Police were joined by members of the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police and county detectives as they continued their efforts to find the killer or killers.

"We're doing everything possible to identify the person who did this," township police Chief Neil J. Harkins said at a press briefing Monday.

Since Saturday morning, police have talked to neighbors and classmates and have used tracking dogs to try to find the trail of the killer or killers.

District Attorney Donald Totaro said the various investigative agencies met today "to review the status of the investigation and designate assignments."

The additional manpower and forensic expertise, Harkins explained, is part of their commitment to solve this crime.

"This has been a top priority since Saturday morning," Totaro said at the briefing Monday. "We will spare no expenses, manpower or resources."

But both Harkins and Totaro emphasized the need for more information from the public.

"We need to appeal to the community," Harkins said. "Someone knows something, whether it's about a member of the Haines family or the individual who committed the crime. Please call us."

Even if the information may seem inconsequential, Harkins urged the public to call police at 569-6401.
VictimPower.org is another option, Totaro suggested, where people can submit information without giving their identity.

Teams of detectives have been talking to neighbors, family members and friends, including Kevin's classmates at Manheim Township High School.

At the Monday press conference, Harkins answered many questions that Lancaster County residents have been asking.

The three members of the family were all stabbed to death, Harkins said after autopsies were conducted Monday.

The murder weapon was  probably a knife, he said, and that has not been recovered.

There was no sign of the assailant,  Harkins said, and no indication whether there was more than one person involved.

There is no description of the assailant, police said, Maggie saw no one, or any vehicle the killer or killers may have been driving.

There was no indication the intruder forced his way into the house, Harkins said, adding that officers found the back door to the home was standing open.

Maggie, a sophomore at Bucknell University, had just come home from college for the summer on Thursday.

She and her family had been home watching television Friday night before going to bed.

Investigators said they have found no evidence linking the daughter to the killings.

"She was asleep, and there is no reason to believe she was involved," Harkins said. "But we are open to all possibilities."

Harkins said investigators are using what they call "victimology" to try and understand the family members' histories and lifestyles in hopes of finding some reason for the murder.

But as of now, Harkins said, police have no suspects.

"The suspect is out in the community somewhere," Harkins said.

Obviously, until the suspect or suspects are apprehended, Harkins said, residents "should be concerned."

Investigators have been tight-lipped about some information they have gathered, which Harkins and Totaro said will be kept private until a suspect has been apprehended.

For example, police said they would not discuss the order in which the members of the Haines family were killed or any physical evidence they may have collected to this point.

Maggie Haines has been very cooperative, authorities said, and helpful in giving police what information she can about the crime.

It was unclear whether her father was already dead or unconscious, or whether her mother also had been mortally wounded, when she stopped in the master bedroom.

She never saw her brother or the assailant, offiicals said, but heard noises in his room before she fled the house.

"Maggie's attention was focused solely on her mother when she went to the bedroom, and therefore she did not observe the condition of her father," Totaro explained.

She also "did not come in contact with her brother after hearing the noises from his bedroom," Totaro said.

Three churches in the Blossom Hill neighborhood have scheduled a joint prayer service at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Neffsville Mennonite Church, 2371 Lititz Pike.

CONTACT US: jkelley@LNPnews.com or 481-6026