Monroe County, Pennsylvania
For more than five decades, twin sisters Lori and Debbie Leonard have lived with unanswered questions no family should have to carry. Why were their parents, John and Madeleine Leonard, murdered? And why are their cases still unsolved more than 50 years later?
The Leonard family launched a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of exhuming their parents’ remains to finally get answers through modern forensic testing. They hope it will finally provide the answers denied to them by decades of stalled investigations, lost records, and what they allege is a systemic cover-up.
“Our parents were both murdered in the 1970s,” Lori Leonard writes. “We need to have their bodies exhumed and examined by modern forensics to find truth and answers. We need justice and closure.”
A Cab Ride That Ended in Murder
On September 8, 1970, John Leonard Sr., a WWII veteran and taxi driver for Mick’s Taxi Service, was dispatched to Buck Hill Falls Inn for a seemingly routine fare. He never came back home.
He was found in his cab, shot multiple times in the head, neck, and back. His murder, committed just 150 feet from the Inn’s front doors, in broad daylight, was never solved.
Despite witnesses seeing a man near the cab and irregularities in the investigation timeline, police closed ranks. The owner of the taxi company towed the car himself — then drove it again for business six weeks later. Autopsy records vanished. Leads were dismissed.
Two Years Later, Another Sudden, Tragic Death
On February 21, 1973, Madeleine Leonard, a waitress at the Top Hat Restaurant in Mountainhome, told her daughters she was going out to pursue a lead on her husband’s murder. She never came home again.
The next morning, her body was found in a wrecked car. Local police at the time noted tire tracks from another vehicle, paint transfer, and rear-end damage, all suggesting she may have been run off the road. But Pennsylvania State Police declined to investigate it as a homicide.
According to the Leonards, they only discovered in 2017 that their mother’s death had not ever been treated as a potential crime.
Why Exhumation Matters
After repeated roadblocks from law enforcement, the Leonard sisters are seeking $75,000 to:
- Exhume both parents’ remains
- Hire a modern forensic pathologist to perform full autopsies
- Conduct DNA testing
- Retain a private investigator and legal counsel
They say the Monroe County Coroner, Thomas Yanac, told them records of any autopsies are missing and confirmed that Madeleine’s death certificate was “not consistent” with her crash being accidental.
Related: Leonard Family Calls for United Victims’ Voices
A Veteran, Parents, Silenced Victims
Both John and Madeleine Leonard were respected community members. Also, John was a decorated POW from World War II. Madeleine was a Gold Star Mother, having lost a son in Vietnam.
Their surviving daughters — now in their 60s — are the only ones of the five Leonard children left to seek justice.
“Our family has suffered for over 52 years. Our parents gave so much to this country and their community. They deserve honor and justice.”
You can find a detailed account of their story on the official GoFundMe page.
How You Can Help
💚 Donate or share the official GoFundMe: Exhumation & Solving Two Unsolved Murders in One
Know something? Call PA CrimeStoppers: 1-800-4PA-TIPS
Share this post on social media to amplify their story.
More coverage:
- NBC Dateline: Twin Sisters Take on Cold Case
- Murder Nextdoor: The Murder of John and Madeleine Leonard: Case Summary [Youtube Podcast]
- WNEP The Unsolved: John Leonard [News Video]
NEPA True Crime will continue to follow this case and support efforts to seek answers. An in-depth podcast episode on the John and Madeleine Leonard cases is currently in production.
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