Updates
June 02, 2025: As of today, Terence Leroy Ray has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Luzerne County Courthouse. At a preliminary hearing, the judge decides if there’s enough evidence for a case to go to trial. It is not about determining guilt or innocence. But given all the evidence in this case, I think the odds are high that Ray will waive his preliminary hearing. [I’m not a legal expert, but waiving this hearing is common when there is an abundance of evidence against a defendent.] View the Terence Leroy Ray docket here.
May 19, 2025: Terence Leroy Ray is returning to Luzerne County today, to face charges of criminal homicide, abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence. He’ll be jailed without bail at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility. 1 2 I wonder if we’ll get any clarity on how this apparently minor drug deal went so horrifically wrong, leaving a 39-year-old mother dead, and a 55-year-old grandfather facing the rest of his life in prison.
💚 GoFundMe for Jessica Lockwood’s children – Donate here
May 11, 2025: A benefit is set for July 11, 2025, at the Harwood Fire Company, where Jessica was a firefighter and trustee. The day will feature live music along with food trucks and local vendors. Attendees can also try their luck at Tricky Trays, generously donated by supporters, businesses, and members of the community. Benefit organizers are currently seeking more local businesses to donate to the fundraiser.
Jess went beyond for anything that was asked of her. She was dedicated to a life of selflessness, compassion, & charity. She will be greatly missed & fondly remembered by all the lives she touched. – Harwood Fire Company
Also, Lockwood’s 11-year-old daughter, Isabella, recently spoke with Andy Mehalshik of 28/22 News (video below). 3
May 8, 2025: Terence Leroy Ray, a suspect in the homicide of Jessica (Paul) Lockwood, was apprehended at 5:45 a.m. the morning of May 8th, in Westchester County, New York, without incident. He was tracked to the Hilltop Inn & Suites on Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers. The arrest was made by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Pennsylvania State Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit.
Ray is currently held in the Westchester County Jail, where he’s awaiting extradition back to Luzerne County. 4
Luzerne County D.A. Sam Sanguedolce said investigators think they know the motive behind Ray’s actions.
“We have a theory we are not prepared to make public yet,” Sanguedolce said. 5
💚 GoFundMe for Jessica Lockwood’s children – Donate here
What happened to Jessica Lockwood?
On the morning of April 27, 2025, at about 7:00 a.m., the Hazleton City Fire Department responded to a report of a mannequin on fire on Club 40 Road near East Broad Street in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. They arrived at the scene to discover a human body wrapped in a tarp and set on fire. The unclothed victim was identified as 39-year-old Jessica Ann Lockwood, a dedicated volunteer firefighter, ambulance technician, and married mother of two from Frackville.
Jessica Lockwood had been reported missing the previous day after failing to pick up her son. With the help of her family, authorities tracked her cell phone and discovered it abandoned along Route 424.
Investigators reviewed the phone and found a series of text messages between Lockwood and a contact saved as “Og,” later identified as Terence Leroy Ray, age 55. Lockwood’s final message, sent at 2:33 p.m. on April 26 to “Og”, read, “Here. I have to get my son.”
Police interviewed Lockwood’s incarcerated husband, James Lockwood, who told them he knew “Og” to be a pill dealer.
James is serving a one-year prison sentence for firing a gun at a group of teenagers trespassing near the Harwood Volunteer Fire Company in Hazle Township, where both he and his wife had been active members. He started his prison sentence on April 10, just a few weeks before the murder.
During the interview, James Lockwood told investigators his wife had been buying painkillers from “Og.” Before he was locked up, James always accompanied her to the drug buys, which took place in an alley behind Ray’s home. He said Lockwood got addicted to pain meds after dealing with chronic pain due to extensive neck surgeries.
Ray has a prescription for Percocet, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
James Lockwood called Ray from the correctional facility and asked him if he knew where Lockwood was. Ray told him Jessica never showed up at his place, and he didn’t know where she was.
Evidence found in Hazleton burning body case
The day the body was discovered, authorities searched Ray’s side of the double-block residence at 137 Muir Avenue in Hazleton. The search revealed:
- a pool of dried blood in the basement
- blonde hair matching Lockwood’s
- a single gold-plated diamond earring matching one Lockwood was wearing
- blood-soaked trash bags and paper towels
- blood on a red handcart and a piece of rope
- a torn pillowcase consistent with fabric used to wrap Lockwood’s legs
- two live 9mm rounds
- an empty gun case
- ownership papers for a 9mm Ruger handgun
Surveillance footage captured Ray moving Lockwood’s vehicle from his residence to a location a block away. Additionally, a license plate reader recorded Ray’s dark blue Ford Explorer entering and exiting Club 40 Road around the time of the body’s discovery.
An autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Siebert determined Lockwood died from a gunshot to the upper right chest and blunt force trauma leading to broken ribs, a shattered clavicle, and head trauma.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide by Luzerne County Acting Coroner Kaitlin Keating.
Warrant issued for Terrence Leroy Ray – Jessica Lockwood homicide
On April 29, 2025, a criminal complaint was filed under seal, charging Terrence Ray with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. The complaint was unsealed on May 5, 2025, during a press conference by Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.
Sanguedolce stated that investigators think they’ve uncovered the motive behind Ray’s actions.
“We have a theory we are not prepared to make public yet,” Sanguedolce said.
Authorities believe Ray fled Luzerne County immediately after the Jessica Lockwood homicide and is currently at large. He left his dark blue Ford Explorer at his home on Muir Ave. He possibly has connections in the Bronx.
The Hazleton Standard Speaker reports that Ray’s daughter alleged in a 2022 PFA filing that he assaulted her and made threats involving a firearm inside the same residence where Lockwood was killed.
“Dad climbed through my apartment window, punched me, attacked my daughter, and damaged property in home. Was arrested and released today,” she wrote in the PFA filing.
Ray is described as weighing about 240 pounds and is 6’1″ tall. He is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach. Call 911.
How you can help
💚 A GoFundMe campaign established to support Jessica Lockwood’s children has raised over $21,000 as of May 7, 2025 – Donate here
🕯️ A Celebration of Life is scheduled for May 13, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Harman Funeral Homes & Crematory Inc. in Drums, Pennsylvania.
🎟️ Benefit for Jessica Lockwood’s family July 11, 2025: To be held at Harwood Fire Company, where Jessica served as a firefighter and trustee. Live music, food trucks, local vendors, and raffle trays donated by the community. Organizers are still seeking local business donations.
📞 Submit a Tip
If you have any information regarding this case, please contact the Hazleton City Police Department.
- Tip Line (Non-Emergency): (570) 450-2080
- Submit a Tip Online: Hazleton Police Department Tip Submission
- Police Department Website: Hazleton City Police Department
📰 Local News Coverage
- May 1, 2025 – Volunteer firefighter identified in Club 40 Road homicide investigation / Times Leader
- May 2, 2025 – Community rallies around children of murder victim / Times Leader
- May 5, 2025 – Suspect identified in Hazleton burning body investigation / Times Leader
- May 5, 2025 – Authorities release new information after burning body discovered in Hazleton / PAHomepage
- May 5, 2025 – DA: Manhunt launched for suspect in Hazleton body-burning murder / Standard Speaker
- May 6, 2025 – Suspect named, sought for homicide in Luzerne County slaying / PAHomepage
- May 6, 2025 – Update on burning body found in Hazleton / PAHomepage
- May 6, 2025 – Luzerne County DA: Hazleton murder suspect on the run, considered dangerous / WVIA
- May 6, 2025 – Manhunt Launched After Brutal Killing Of Firefighter, Mom Found Burning On PA Road / Daily Voice
- May 8, 2025 – Suspect apprehended in Hazleton homicide of volunteer firefighter / The Times Leader
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Terence Leroy Ray, Docket No. MJ-11304-CR-0000153-2025, Magisterial District Court 11-3-04, April 29, 2025. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://ujsportal.pacourts.us.
- Lewis, Ed. 2025. “Hazleton Homicide Suspect Returning to Luzerne County – Times Leader.” May 19, 2025. https://www.timesleader.com/news/1698452/hazleton-homicide-suspect-returns-to-luzerne-county.
- Mehalshik, Andy and Smith, Zachary. 2025. “Hazleton Homicide Suspect Terence Ray in Custody.” PAhomepage.Com. May 8, 2025
- Bandler, Jonathan. 2025. “Man Wanted in Pennsylvania Murder Arrested at Yonkers Hotel.” The Journal News. May 9, 2025.
- Kalinowski, Bob. 2025. “DA: Manhunt Launched for Suspect in Hazleton Body-Burning Murder.” Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice, May 5, 2025.