Homicides in Lancaster County, 2011
Allison Walsh and her unborn daughter were victims in the county's only double homicide this year. Police allege they were killed by Walsh's boyfriend, Matthew Becker.
A photo provided by a friend shows Allison Walsh and her boyfriend, Matthew Becker. Police say Becker shot and killed Walsh and her unborn daughter in August.
Matthew Becker is escorted from a preliminary hearing by constables. He is accused of killing his girlfriend, Allison Walsh, and the couple's unborn daughter in August.
Pablo Sanchez is accused of murdering Patricia Crouse of Lancaster in July.
Tyrick Walker is accused of killing Mark McLaughlin at a West Hempfield Township homeless camp near the Susquehanna River in April.
Police say Robert Baron Brown shot Robert Hampton on a city street after an argument. The crime happened on Aug. 31.
Cochranville native R. Tommy Stanley was fatally injured while under local hospice care after a Valentine's Day fight, police say.
Police gather at the scene of the murder of Spencer Houston in May. The crime is still under investigation.
Police officers gather at the Earl Township home of Larry Marsh, who was shot to death by a police officer in what the district attorney ruled was a justifiable homicide in April. Marsh was shot after a three-hour standoff with police.
Three lives were taken here this year in domestic violence confrontations between men and women — the leading motive for local homicides.
In all, police have investigated nine homicides in Lancaster County over the past 12 months.
That number jumped from the six homicides here in 2010. Still, the total is below the county average of about 12 a year.
In the only double homicide, Matthew Becker shot his pregnant girlfriend, Allison Walsh, killing her and the couple's unborn child, police allege. The Mastersonville couple were in a dispute Aug. 12 over plans for the evening, according to court testimony.
In the other domestic killing, Patricia Crouse, 39, was strangled July 8 in Lancaster city. Pablo Sanchez, 26, was charged with homicide. Their relationship hasn't been explained, but investigators said they were acquaintances.
Three people — all men — also were killed in verbal confrontations that turned physical. Motives in those killings varied.
Mark McLaughlin was beaten and drowned April 4 at a West Hempfield Township homeless camp along the Susquehanna River. Another man from the camp, Tyrick Walker, pleaded guilty this month to third-degree murder.
According to charging documents, Walker became annoyed by McLaughlin's talking. He repeatedly punched McLaughlin, then drowned him in the river.
On Aug. 31, Robert Hampton, 28, was shot on a Lancaster city street after he got into arguments with a few men. One of those men, Robert Baron Brown, was charged last month with homicide.
In a bizarre case, a Cochranville man died in March while under local hospice care. R. Tommy Stanley was fatally injured, police said, after a Valentine's Day fight in Chester County.
Stanley, 40, and Dorian Pennington fought after Stanley accidentally opened his car door on Pennington, who was walking by. Pennington punched Stanley, and Stanley fell to the ground, striking his head, police said.
The men didn't know each other, police said.
Pennington is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Bullets were to blame in the county's three other homicides, including one that remains unsolved.
In that case, Spencer Houston — a partially blind amputee — was found shot to death inside his New Holland Avenue apartment.
Houston, 50, a diabetic who lived alone, was found dead in his home May 19. Police continue to investigate.
A month earlier, a Lancaster city mother of four children was shot and killed at her front door on Old Dorwart Street. Diana Spencer, 33, wasn't the intended target, investigators said.
A group of men came to her home looking to settle a grudge with her boyfriend, police said. One of those men opened fire and shot Spencer through the front door, police allege.
Police charged three city men — Oscar Martinez, 19, Christopher "B" Lassitter, 24, and Jakwan "Ick" Green, 22. The death penalty will be sought at trial because Spencer's children also were inside the home when shots were fired. Martinez is the alleged shooter.
Also in April, Larry Marsh was killed by a police sniper in what the district attorney ruled was a justifiable homicide.
Marsh was armed with a rifle and told a 911 dispatcher he wanted to be shot at his Earl Township mobile home. After a three-hour standoff with police, Marsh aimed his rifle at the officers. He was killed by a single shot.
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