Murder again created national interest in Lancaster County in 2006.

The deaths of five Amish girls after being shot in a Bart Township school and slaughter of six relatives at a Leola home brought throngs of media into both small towns.

The television, Internet and print media coverage exceeded the November 2005 shooting of a Warwick Township couple and the discovery of a slaying victim's skeletal remains in Brownstown.

Networks, their local affiliates and cable TV news channels devoted hours to the Nickel Mines School shooting and Leola murders.

Magazines and newspapers also rushed to detail the carnage.

The killings totaled 11 victims, which pushed the county homicide total to 21.

There were nine homicides in 2005.

The 2006 total also is the highest in the past 10 years.

Love and money were factors in a majority of the 2006 killings, but it took a disturbed milk-truck driver harboring a long-held grudge about the death of his newborn daughter to unleash a new level of violence.

Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, a married father of two, opened fire Oct. 2 in the Nickel Mines School.

Marian Fisher, 13, Anna Mae Stoltzfus, 12, sisters Mary Liz Miller, 8, and Lena Miller, 7, and Naomi Rose Ebersol, 7, died from Roberts' gunfire before he turned the gun on himself.

The killings were comparable only to the April murders of six people, allegedly at the hands of a relative.

Jesse Dee Wise, 21, was arrested April 12, just hours after police discovered the bodies in a basement.

The victims were: Emily Wise, 64, Agnes Wise, 43, Wanda Wise, 45, Jesse James Wise, 17, Skyler Wise, 19, and Chance Wise, 5.

Police alleged Wise killed his family, used their credit cards during a shopping spree and spent time with his teenage girlfriend.

He allegedly plotted to kill his grandfather in New York but his car broke down on the way.

Wise is being held without bail in county prison. An evidence-suppression hearing is scheduled this month in county court.

Four other homicides were the result of love and family-related stress.

Tyron Williams, 29, of 216 N. Duke St., was shot and killed in April during a family dispute with James Collins. Police charged Collins with homicide. He is being held without bail while awaiting trial.

John Graves Jr., has been charged with homicide after allegedly starting a fire in the 35 N. Mulberry St. apartment he shared with girlfriend Angela Readance, 29. Readance died of injuries related to the fire but first told a medical worker Graves started the blaze.

Iannely Pomerantz, 3, of 764 S. Lime St., died of injuries sustained in a beating on Memorial Day.

Her mother, Theresa Pomerantz, and her mother's boyfriend, Wilfred Torres, have been ordered to stand trial in her death.

Fannie Musser, 78, of Mount Joy died of injuries sustained when she was repeatedly kicked in the head in May. Her son, Michael Lee Musser, 48, who lived with her, has been charged with her death but is undergoing treatment in a psychiatric hospital.

Police arrested suspects in three other homicides.

Shawn M. Hutchinson, 31, of 516 E. Chestnut St., was shot and killed during a robbery on Nov. 30 in the city, police said. Police charged four suspects in the case: Ernest Rykard, Jacquin Carr, Lizyvette Rosario-Casanova and Rachel Rakita.

Angelli Brown, 21, of 9 W. High St., Elizabethtown, was shot and killed Oct. 5. Christopher Long and Phillip Bartley, are charged with the homicide.

They are being held without bail to await a March preliminary hearing in Elizabethtown.

David Paul Smith, 22, of Columbia, died March 5 after a beating after a dispute in a tavern. Andrew Ort, 26, of East Hempfield Township pleaded guilty in December to third-degree murder in the killing and was sentenced to 6 to 12 years in prison.

Keenan Wayne Dudley, 35, was found shot to death while sitting in his car in Reiker Alley, near West Grant and West Orange streets in March in Lancaster city, police said. No arrest has been made.

Daniel Vincent Hollman, 31, was found shot to death in October in a Howard Avenue home. No arrest has been made.

Elliott Ayala, 23, was shot and killed on Lafayette Street in December. No arrest has been made.

In 2004, there were 11 homicides, including two young boys who allegedly died at the hands of their mother, Meghan Lippiatt, as well as Cortney Fry, whose boyfriend recently was convicted of her murder.

In 2003, there were 12 homicides, including federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna, who was found lying facedown in a Brecknock Township stream. The case remains unsolved.

In 2002, there were 11 homicides in the county, and in 2001, there were 12 homicides, including the torture and murder of elementary school principal Lucy Smith and her husband, Terry.


Brett Lovelace's e-mail address is blovelace@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus