NEPA True Crime

Cases from Northeastern Pennsylvania

Category: Unsolved Murders in Pennsylvania

From the streets of Wilkes-Barre to the backroads of Monroe County, these unsolved murders reveal the region’s still-raw tragedies. Each case — including unsolved murders from the 1970s— remains open, with families still waiting for answers. Browse the investigations, revisit the evidence, and see if you uncover something others may have missed.

  • Remembering Joan Dymond, 56 Years Since Wilkes-Barre Disappearance, Unsolved Homicide

    Remembering Joan Dymond, 56 Years Since Wilkes-Barre Disappearance, Unsolved Homicide

    Last update: July 10, 2025, 7:55 a.m., added more information about forensics

    The summer of 1969 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was a time when kids still roamed free, neighborhoods felt safe, and a 14-year-old girl like Joan Dymond could go to the park after supper without a second thought.

    But for George and Anne Rose Dymond, that summer was the start of lifelong heartbreak. It’s when their youngest daughter, Joan, disappeared without a trace.

    It took 53 long years for some of the truth of what happened to Joan to come to light.

    Today, we remember Joan Dymond from Wilkes-Barre. And we look over the circumstances of her disappearance, as state police actively search for the person who killed her, whether dead or alive.

    If you lived in Luzerne County in 1969, did you know Joan?

    Or do you remember any assaults or attempted assaults on teenage girls back then?

    State police are investigating crimes from that era in search of possible clues as to what happened to Joan.

    Anything you remember could be helpful to the investigation.

    Many police records were lost in the 1972 flood, so don’t assume they already know about an incident you remember.

    Contact PA State Police at 570‑542‑4117.

    No call is a waste of their time, no piece of information is too small.

    Call in your tip!

    The Joan Dymond Case

    Wednesday, June 25, 1969.

    Come Together was the No. 1 Billboard hit, passing overAquarius/Let the Sunshine In. And Joan Marie Dymond had just finished eighth grade at Meyers Junior/Senior High School. Her fourteenth birthday was a month behind her, and the warm weeks of summer break stretched out before her. At least, they should have.

    Joan was excited about becoming an aunt later that summer — her older sister, Suzanne, was expecting her first baby in August. Joan had already been talking about coming to stay to help out with the newborn.1

    That evening after supper was relatively cool, in the upper 60s, Joanie, as everyone called her, told her parents she was heading to Andover Street Park, just a short walk from home. Officially named Eyerman Park, kids knew Andover Park simply as the playground, the place where you went to see friends or pass time. Joan headed to the park around 5 p.m.

    Andover Street in 2025. Where Joan Dymond of Wilkes-Barre lived.

    That Wednesday night, Joan’s parents might have turned on channel 22 for the lineup of Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies and Hawaii 5-O.

    But by the time The Tonight Show theme started to play at 11:30 p.m., they must have started to worry.

    Where was Joanie?

    “She would have been aunt to my two children and great aunt to my six grandchildren. None of them know her now, none of them,” – Suzanne, Joan’s sister 2

    Summer in Wilkes-Barre: Joan Dymond’s Disappearance in 1969

    In 1969, Wilkes-Barre was a battered coal town, living with the legacy of its anthracite mines as those jobs faded away. But back then, downtown Wilkes-Barre still thrived with department stores and movie houses. And close-knit neighborhoods thrummed with corner stores, social clubs, churches, and taverns.

    On summer evenings, teens might pile in a car and head for San Souci Park, a 10-minute drive from Joan’s neighborhood. It had a roller coaster, a roller skating rink, a dance hall, a penny arcade and more. That park shut down just one year later. Today, it’s the site of the Hanover Area Junior/Senior High School.

    Map of San Souci Park in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsyvania.
    San Souci Park, Sanborn Map Company, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Vol. 2, 1910; republished 1955, Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

    When Joan didn’t come home that night, her family filed a missing persons report with the Wilkes-Barre Police Department. Her sister later said at a press conference that Joan hadn’t called any of her friends, none of her family. “She just fell off the face of the earth.”

    Her parents described what she’d been wearing when she left that night: a dark-brown, long-sleeved blouse, and a pair of flower-print bellbottom pants in shades of brown, yellow, and white — the very latest style.

    Joan stood about 5’5″, weighed around 125 pounds, and wore her long brown hair parted down the middle. She had warm brown eyes and a gentle smile.

    The Dymond Family

    War time photo of the father of missing girl Joan Dymond, Wilkes-Barre
    Joan’s father, serving overseas in 1945. The Times Leader. 1945. “Sgt George F Dymond – Photo,” January 30, 1945.

    Joan’s family had deep roots in the Rolling Mill Hill section of Wilkes-Barre, a neighborhood “molded and shaped by a history of hard work.”

    Her father, George, was a machine miner at the Glen Alden Coal Company’s Huber Colliery, just a 5-minute drive up the hill from home. He was also a World War II veteran, rising to sergeant in the European theater before returning to Wilkes-Barre to marry and raise a family. A photo of the young G.I. appeared in the local newspaper in 1945.

    Both George and Anne’s parents had come to Pennsylvania in the early 1900s from Lithuania. The Dymonds were active members of Holy Trinity Lithuanian Catholic Church on East South Street. 

    Joan was the youngest of their three children. By June 1969, the family nest had started to empty. Joan’s older brother had graduated high school in 1968, leaving his newspaper route behind to study education in college. Her sister Suzanne had married in the fall of ’68, right as Joan was starting eighth grade. But the family had no reason to believe they didn’t have four more years before their youngest left home.

    Joan Dymond, Wilkes-Barre, portrait, while junior bridesmaid at her sister's wedding

    Thirteen-year-old Joan served as junior bridesmaid in her sister’s wedding in October 1968, smiling brightly in photographs that captured a girl who should have had her whole future ahead of her.

    Maybe, standing there in her bridesmaid dress, Joan dreamed of her own wedding — a lace gown, a kind groom, music filling the church.

    But Joan would never get that day. Instead, on an early summer evening in June 1969, she stepped out toward the playground. And her future, and all the joyful moments it held, vanished with her.

    “She just fell off the face of the earth.” – Joan’s sister, Suzanne

    The Search for Joan Dymond in 1969

    Joan’s disappearance was reported in local newspapers on July 2, 1969. There was another report on July 3rd.

    Police did what they could with what they had. A juvenile officer reportedly reached out to departments in New York City and Atlantic City, with the presumption that Joan might be a runaway.

    No luck.

    Regional police in Pennsylvania also searched for her, but couldn’t find a trace of the girl.

    At every event, the Fourth of July, the birth of her first nephew, the start of the new school year, I imagine her family must have felt certain that Joanie would walk through their door.

    But days turned into weeks, then years. No sign of Joan was ever found, for more than four decades.

    A commenter on a Times Leader article wrote:

    “I recall [Joan] going missing after my family had moved from Andover Street. This was the heyday of the “love generation,” and her parents and family were plagued with gossip that she had joined a cult, run away with “hippies,” taken off for the West Coast, for Texas, for you name it.”

    When Joan went missing, she was wearing flowered bellbottoms, a style associated with the flower child look, which may have fed suspicions she was drawn to a commune or radical group.

    With cults like the Manson Family dominating the headlines and fears of teenagers leaving home to hitchhike or join communes, it was likely easier for people to believe she had chosen to leave than to confront the possibility she’d been harmed.

    Later forensic testing would pinpoint a time of death. Joan hadn’t run away.

    “It was just very stressful. My parents were crazy. We all went out looking for her. We drove, I think, for months we drove all over the Valley, looking for her, trying to see her,”- Suzanne, Joan’s sister.

    Joan’s mother refused to believe Joan wasn’t out there somewhere, alive. She held on to that hope until her own passing in 2000. 

    Remains Discovered in Newport Township

    On November 17, 2012, a group of people scavenging for relics in a wooded area, the grounds of a former coal-mining operation, discovered human remains near Alden Mountain Road in Newport Township, about 9 miles from the Dymond home. All they found was a skull with  the first cervical vertebrae and a few teeth. State police excavated the area and searched with cadaver dogs, but no other remains were found.

    Alden Mountain Road, where Joan’s remains were found

    For 10 years, the remains sat unidentified, known only as Jane “Newport” Doe. That was despite examination by forensic anthropologists and a forensic dentist and DNA testing at the University of Texas.

    They were able to determine that the remains belonged to a young woman or teenage girl. However, familial DNA and genetic genealogy were not being used to solve cold cases back then.

    The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children assisted with leads into missing females.They also created a facial reconstruction. Still, nothing.

    In August 2021, the remains were sent for carbon dating to determine when death occurred. Results of that test showed the young woman or teenage girl died in the late 1960s.

    In 2022, more than a decade after the discovery, the Pennsylvania State Police, working with Othram, a Texas-based forensic genealogy lab, finally made a breakthrough. By analyzing advanced DNA profiles and comparing them to public family tree databases, they identified the remains as Joan Marie Dymond.

    It had taken fifty-three years for Joanie to come home.

    “It didn’t reduce the sadness,” Suzanne Estock, Joan’s older sister, said at a 2022 state police press conference. “I’m glad she was found so maybe we can have a service for her.”3

    In 2023, Joan’s death was officially ruled a homicide.

    Investigators have determined her cause of death, but are withholding it from the public to protect the ongoing investigation.

    “[…] it’s always there. Sometimes you don’t sleep a night because you wonder what happened to her. What did she go through?” – Suzanne Estock, Joan’s sister 4

    Who killed Joan Dymond? Why?

    Investigators hope the public will help answer those questions.

    Who Killed Joan Dymond? Theorie and Questions

    After all these years, the puzzle of Joan Dymond’s disappearance remains painfully incomplete. The evidence is sparse, and the killer,  if alive, is still out there.

    In 1969, hitchhiking was considered safe. I’ve heard from older local friends that even children used to hitch rides to get around Luzerne County.

    Joan had left home around 5 p.m. on a Wednesday. No one reported seeing her at Andover Street park. Maybe that’s because no one else was there at the time. Hoping to find her friends, maybe Joan walked the few blocks from Andover Street Park to South Main Street, a major thoroughfare, and thumbed a ride to San Souci Park from a passing after-work commuter?

    There are no public reports from the time she went missing of anyone seeing Joan at the San Souci Park. Maybe someone offered her a ride there but kept driving, taking her to that isolated place where she was found 43 years later. Of course, that’s only speculation.

    We just don’t know exactly how Joan got to Alden Mountain Road.

    Luzerne County map showing a route from Joan Dymond's home in Wilkes-Barre to Alden Mountain Road in Newport Township.
    The Alden Mountain Road location is about 9 miles, an 18-minute drive, from Joan’s street in Wilkes-Barre.

    In the time around when Joan Dymond vanished in June 1969, other crimes against teenage girls were reported in Luzerne County.

    Law enforcement has confirmed they are reviewing incidents from that era for any possible connection to Joan’s case.

    At this time, no official suspect has been named, and the investigation remains open.

    Anyone who knew Joan or has knowledge of similar crimes or suspicious activity in Luzerne County during that period is urged to contact Pennsylvania State Police.

    “Nicest and prettiest girl on Andover. She never knew what life could have held for her. “
    – Hilary P., (July 16, 2023), condolence on Joan Marie Dymond, Obituary

    Joan Marie Dymond’s funeral. Image source: The Citizens Voice. 5

    Joan’s remains were laid to rest in July 2023 at Holy Trinity Cemetery in Bear Creek, next to her parents.

     

    © 2025 NEPA True Crime. All rights reserved.

    Pennsylvania State Police Need Your Help

    “We never stopped pursuing answers, and this investigation remains very active. After 53 years, the family of Joan Marie Dymond very much deserves closure.”

    – State Police Capt. Patrick Dougherty

    Did you know Joan?

    Investigators want to speak with anyone who attended St. Boniface Parochial School or E.L. Meyers High School Class of 1973 with Joan

    $5,000 Reward

    Pennsylvania Crimestoppers is offering a reward for information leading to an arrest

    “You would be shocked at what small details actually can turn into a new lead and help us solve a case.”

    – Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sangueldolce

    How you can help

    Tip Line — Pennsylvania State Police Troop P: 570‑542‑4117
    Please call if you have any information related to Joan’s disappearance or death.

    National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC)
    You can also share information through NCMEC’s hotline at 1‑800‑THE‑LOST (1‑800‑843‑5678).


    Learn More & Follow the Case

  • MURDER MYSTERY: Why didn’t anyone hear the shots that killed John Leonard? And why it matters.

    MURDER MYSTERY: Why didn’t anyone hear the shots that killed John Leonard? And why it matters.

    Updated: June 25, 2025, added more information about the use of silencers

    Lots of things don’t add up in the John Leonard murder case.

    Here’s one of them:

    How did no one hear the five gunshots that killed John Leonard?

    At first glance, you might assume the killer used a silencer.
    But look closer at the facts and the type of weapon involved, and that theory doesn’t hold up so well.

    More on that below.

    John Leonard, cold case murder victim
    John Leonard

    Background Information

    John Leonard, 52, was a father of five who worked for Mick’s Motors and Taxi Service in the Poconos. He and his children lived in an apartment on the business’s property. John was a decorated World War II veteran, a former POW of a Nazi war camp, and a devout Catholic.

    The last fare

    On September 8th, 1970, John Leonard went out to pick up a taxi fare. It was the Tuesday after Labor Day — a beautiful late-summer day, with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, and only a few clouds in the sky.3 According to taxi company owner Don Mick, a caller requested pickup at the entrance to the Inn at Buck Hill Falls. The Inn was 2 miles from Mick’s Motors; a mere five-minute drive.

    The Inn, a massive 400-room luxury resort on a hill, loomed over Buck Hill Falls, one of five villages in Barrett Township. In 1970, the township population was just 2,452, per census records. Not exactly New York City. It was quiet and woodsy, as you can see on the map below.

    Map showing the last known location of John Leonard and the Inn where his body was discovered in 1970.

    Body discovery in the John Leonard murder case

    News reports state taxi company owner Don Mick discovered John’s bullet-riddled body in his cab. John was parked on the long driveway leading up to the Inn. Don said he went to look for John after John stopped responding to radio calls.

    John Leonard was shot five times, bullets striking his head, neck and back. Detective Craig Vanlouvender, Chief Detective of Cold Cases for the Monroe County D.A., told Dateline NBC that John was killed with a .22-caliber weapon, most likely a revolver due to the lack of shell casings at the scene. Investigators believe the killer shot him through the open driver’s side window.

    The prevailing theory in the John Leonard murder case is that John was murdered right there — on the Inn’s driveway — by the person who called for the taxi.

    So that would mean he was shot outdoors, in the middle of a beautiful day, 50 yards (150 feet) from the entrance of a 400-room inn and resort.

    Yet, nobody heard the shots. Not any of the guests, not any of the staff, not any passersby. What are the odds?

    Ballistics and Acoustics Breakdown

    According to multiple sources on firearms acoustics, a .22-caliber revolver, though not the loudest gun, produces a report of 135 to 140 decibels at the muzzle.

    At 50 yards away, that sound would still register at around 90 to 100 decibels — comparable to standing next to a leaf blower or motorcycle. Plus, a sharp, cracking sound like gunfire is easy to distinguish, especially in a quiet rural setting.

    Could the environment have muffled the sound?

    The drive up to the inn, where John was found in his taxi, was lined with hemlock trees and rhododendron bushes. Dense vegetation can muffle or scatter sound. But for five gunshots in a row to go completely unnoticed in broad daylight? While possible, it would require very unusual acoustic conditions.

    What about people inside the Inn?

    Most buildings, even older ones, don’t block gunfire entirely, especially at short distances. Guests or staff might have heard something, even if they didn’t recognize it as gunshots at first — a .22 can sound like a firecracker or a nail gun.

    Why did no one hear the shots?

    A few theories:

    The killer used a sound suppressor (silencer). If the murder weapon is a .22 revolver as the police believe, a “silencer” wouldn’t do much to reduce the noise from the shots. I’m no firearms expert, so I did some research and found this:

    A suppressor (silencer) is largely ineffective on a .22 revolver — or any revolver — because of the design of the gun.

    Most revolvers, including .22s, have a gap between the cylinder and the barrel called the cylinder-barrel gap. When a round is fired, hot gases and sound escape through that gap, bypassing the suppressor entirely. This makes suppressors nearly useless on traditional revolvers for significantly reducing noise.

    A few rare, specialized revolvers, like the Russian Nagant M1895, are designed to seal that gap and can be suppressed — but they’re not commonly used in the U.S., especially not in the 1960s or 70s.

    So if someone fired a .22 revolver in a crime, even with a suppressor, it would still be quite audible, especially outdoors in a quiet area. 

    Environmental conditions muffled the sound. Another explanation for why no one heard the shots is the shooting happened at just the right moment, at the right place, and under the right conditions for no one to hear a thing. Ground temperature, wind direction, humidity and more can affect how far sound travels. I’d love to hear the what a ballistics expert would have to say about this.

    Witnesses stayed silent. Then again, it could be that witnesses heard the shots, but decided to keep their mouths shut about it.

    Police buried the report. Another possibility, in the realm of conspiracy, is people heard the shots and reported it, but the police ‘lost’ that information. (It was the ’70s.)

    The body was moved. It’s also possible, since no one at the inn said they witnessed the shooting or even heard the shots, that John Leonard was killed elsewhere and his body was moved.

    Why does it matter?

    If a witness did hear the shots, it would’ve helped pin down a solid timeline. As it stands, the timeline of the John Leonard murder case has glaring inconsistencies. [That’s for another post.]

    If John Leonard wasn’t killed at the Inn, then the crime scene everyone has accepted for half a century isn’t the real one.

    And if that’s the case, the entire timeline of the crime collapses. Evidence could’ve been left behind elsewhere. Witnesses could’ve seen things in different locations.

    The family’s investigation

    Based on leads from their own independent investigation, the Leonard family believes that John Leonard was likely not murdered at Buck Hill Falls, but killed somewhere else and brought there.

    If the family is right, and the murder didn’t happen at the Inn at Buck Hill Falls, then what else have we misunderstood about this murder case that’s been unsolved for more than 50 years?

    Explore more 1970s cold cases here

    Key facts – John Leonard murder case

    The Victim

    • John Leonard, 52 years old
    • Father of five children
    • Decorated World War II veteran
    • Former POW in a Nazi war camp
    • Devout Catholic
    • Worked for Mick’s Motors and Taxi Service
    • Lived with his children in an apartment on the business property

    Crime Details

    • Date: September 8, 1970 (Tuesday after Labor Day)
    • Weather: Warm and partly sunny, highs in upper 70s
    • Shot five times (head, neck, and back)
    • Weapon: 22-caliber, likely a revolver
    • No shell casings found at the scene
    • Possibly shot through open driver’s side window
    • No witnesses reported hearing gunshots

    Location

    • Body found in taxi on driveway to Inn at Buck Hill Falls
    • Inn was a 400-room luxury resort
    • Located in Buck Hill Falls village, Barrett Township
    • Township population in 1970: 2,452
    • Only 2 miles (5-minute drive) from Mick’s Motors

    Discovery

    • Body discovered by Don Mick, taxi company owner
    • Mick said he went looking after John stopped responding to radio calls
    • Found John’s bullet-riddled body in his cab

    Prevailing Theory

    • John was responding to a pickup request
    • Fare requested pickup at entrance to Inn at Buck Hill Falls
    • Killer likely the person who called for the taxi
    • Shot to death in the driveway of the Inn

    Key Mystery

    • How did nobody hear five gunshots?
    • No shell casings found
    • No witnesses despite daytime murder
    • Murder occurred near a populated luxury resort


    More about the John Leonard murder case

    RELATED

    Who Killed Joannie Dymond of Wilkes-Barre? Missing case turned homicide

  • MURDER MYSTERY: Why was the suspect sketch never released?

    MURDER MYSTERY: Why was the suspect sketch never released?

    The John Leonard cold case has a lot of unanswered questions. The situation with the sketch is a real head-scratcher IMO. Do you have any theories about why it went down the way it did? Please share with us in the comments.

    Imagine if you were a child when your father is shot to death in broad daylight while sitting in his taxi. The killer takes off before anyone finds the scene. The crime seems completely random, making it just about impossible to solve. Even though it’s huge news in your tiny town, the case grows cold fast. Then settles into a decades-long deep freeze. No leads. No justice.

    Fifty years pass. Now you’re at a place in life where you start to look back. You begin digging into the case yourself. You push law enforcement for answers. Bit by bit, some clues emerge.

    And then, one detail stops you cold.

    The police had a sketch of the main suspect. Two witnesses saw a man standing next to your father’s car around the time of the murder. They helped an artist create an image of that man. But that sketch was never released! Not to the public. Not even to your family.

    Why?

    Could you really be blamed for wondering whether police ever truly meant to solve this case? Was someone being protected — at the expense of your father’s life, and your family’s right to the truth and justice?

    After all, this unsolved murder didn’t just happen anywhere.

    It happened in the Poconos, where, in the 1970s, you couldn’t turn left or right without bumping into gangsters. And that’s not hyperbole. Those were the exact words of Joan Weiner, then-head of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission. She reported “‘a significant infiltration of organized crime figures‘ at all levels of the resort business in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania.”

    The Inn at Buck Hill Falls postcard

    John Leonard — the father in this case — was murdered just 50 yards from the grand stone entrance of the Inn at Buck Hill Falls, a 400-room luxury resort that once drew guests from across the country, particularly from Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York.

    Today, the sketch is finally public — more than five decades after the murder. You can see it here and in the embedded video below.

    But the case is still unsolved.

    Who was the man standing by John Leonard’s car?
    Was he the killer?
    Why was the sketch kept from the family for so long?
    And what else has been buried?

    These are some of the questions we’ll be exploring in an upcoming episode of the new NEPA True Crime podcast. Even after fifty years, someone still knows something, and it’s not too late to speak up.

    Sketch released in decades-old Monroe County cold case

    Read more about the Leonard family’s fight for justice.

    💚 Donate to and share the GoFundMe: Exhumation & Solving Two Murders in One

     

  • 💔 Help Solve Two Cold Cases: Leonard Family Seeks Justice Through Exhumation Fundraiser

    💔 Help Solve Two Cold Cases: Leonard Family Seeks Justice Through Exhumation Fundraiser

    Monroe County, Pennsylvania

    black and white photo of the Leonard family. A man and woman and five small children.
    The Leonard family

    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:

    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.

  • Leonard Family Calls for United Victims’ Voices

    Leonard Family Calls for United Victims’ Voices

    Lori Leonard, daughter of John and Madeleine Leonard — whose 1970s murders in the Poconos remain unsolved — has been seriously ill in recent months, but she is undergoing treatment and hopes for a full recovery.

    Even in the face of personal hardship, Lori and her husband Randy Zona, along with Lori’s twin sister, Debbie, continue to advocate not just for their own family, but for other victims’ families as well.

    “We’ve been trying to get other victims’ families together with us,” they wrote. “The more people we make aware of victims’ lives and what we’ve all experienced — and still continue to experience — the more we can hopefully get some kind of justice for everyone.”

    The family has been distributing flyers listing multiple unsolved cases throughout the region in hopes of building awareness and pressure for renewed investigations. They are calling for unity, shared visibility, and collective pressure on law enforcement.

    If your family has been affected by an unsolved homicide or suspicious death in Northeast Pennsylvania and wants to connect with the Leonard/Zona team, please contact them at johnandmadeleineleonard@gmail.com.

    I’m wishing Lori Leonard strength and healing as she continues to advocate for justice on behalf of her mother and father and other families impacted by homicide.

    A podcast episode on the Leonard cases is currently in production for NEPA True Crime.

    This list of other cold case victims from Monroe County and the surrounding area is printed on the back of the Leonard flyers.
    This list of other cold case victims from Monroe County and the surrounding area is printed on the back of the Leonard flyers.

    See also: Dateline NBC’s Cold Case Spotlight on John and Madeleine Leonard.

  • The Girl in the Blue Slippers – The Mystery of I-80 Jane Doe

    The Girl in the Blue Slippers – The Mystery of I-80 Jane Doe

    Her remains were found in Black Creek Township, about 30 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre, in 1973. Local lore has it her spirit haunts the stretch of highway where she was found.

    A forensic sculpture of I-80 Jane Doe, victim in a 1970s Pennsylvania cold case.
    Artist’s rendering of “I-80 Jane Doe” source: https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/case/UP8924

    It’s August 9, 1973, and a tourist decides to pull off Interstate 80 near Sugarloaf in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, for a walk in the woods. But instead of enjoying a peaceful stroll, they stumble upon something horrifying — just 100 feet from the highway, wrapped in a blanket, is the body of a woman. 

    This woman, later known as I-80 Jane Doe, wasn’t just left there. The body had been doused in sulfuric acid, a highly corrosive chemical that causes third-degree burns on contact – a move clearly meant to prevent identification.

    And for more than 50 years, that’s exactly what it did.

    This post explores a 1970s Pennsylvania cold case that’s sat unsolved for far too long.

    August 9, 1973

    Tourist finds woman’s body near I-80, Sugarloaf, PA. Wrapped in a blanket, doused with sulfuric acid

    August 15, 1973

    The remains are buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Wilkes-Barre, PA

    November, 1973

    Three months later, the case is closed.

    2016

    I-80 Jane Doe is exhumed for DNA testing. DNA is collected but no usable profile found. Remains are reburied at Maple Hill Cemetery.

    July, 2024

    I-80 Jane Doe is exhumed a second time for advanced forensic testing

    Image showing the location where I-80 Jane Doe was found in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. 1970s Pennsylvania cold case
    “Body of Woman Found at Tank” Standard-Speaker, August 10, 1973, Page 15. via Newspapers.com

    Discovery and Early Investigation

    When Jane Doe was found, investigators were baffled. Luzerne County Coroner Dr. George Hudock conducted the autopsy at Wyoming Valley Hospital. Here’s what he could gather: Jane Doe was African American, between 21 and 30 years old, around 5 feet tall, and weighed about 100 pounds.

    There were no signs of injury or trauma to her body. X-rays and fingerprinting turned up nothing. Hudock ran toxicology tests to look for drugs or poison in her system, but if he found anything, it was never released to the public.

    The initial investigation revealed that the body was carried to the site, and the young woman died 48 to 72 hours before she was found.

    Checked with schools

    Luzerne County Detective James Grace told the Standard-Speaker that they were checking with schools for a missing girl, just in case she was younger than the estimate, and her description was being circulated to police departments in an eight-state area.

    But there were never any leads.

    Six days after she was found, Jane Doe was buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hanover Township. Rev. W.J. Atterbeary, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Wilkes-Barre, officiated at her graveside.

    And just three months later, the investigation was closed.

    I-80 Jane Doe
    “Autopsy Fails to Determine Death Cause,” The Times Leader, August 10, 1973, Page 21. via Newspapers.com

    A Second Look: The 2016 Exhumation

    After more than four decades, investigators decided to exhume I-80 Jane Doe’s body. DNA technology had come a long way, and there was renewed hope that they could finally identify her. Dr. Erin Kimmerle from the University of South Florida led the forensic examination. They collected DNA samples, hoping for a match in national databases. 

    But despite the advancements in forensic science, it hit a dead end. No viable DNA profile could be developed. I-80 Jane Doe’s body was reburied in Maple Hill Cemetery.

    2024: A New Hope

    Now, nearly eight years later, investigators are taking another shot.

    In July 2024, Luzerne County District Attorney Samuel M. Sanguedolce and Assistant District Attorney Carl Frank filed a petition to exhume I-80 Jane Doe’s body once again. President Judge Michael T. Vough signed off on it.

    Dr. Kimmerle is back on the case, leading another forensic examination. But this time, it’s more comprehensive and will include:

    • Medicolegal autopsy
    • Skeletal analysis
    • Forensic dental analysis
    • X-rays
    • MRI scan
    • DNA extraction and sequencing

    The hope is they can get a usable profile and enter it into a national DNA database.

    That could lead to her relatives, and relatives could lead to her name. 

    Who was I-80 Jane Doe?

    Who was I-80 Jane Doe? From what we know, she was a young Black woman, probably between 20 and 30 years old (certainly younger than 40), 4’10” to 5’2” tall, and weighed around 100 pounds.

    She had dark brown or black hair tied in a short ponytail, and brown eyes. When she was found, she was wearing blue-green shorts, a pink blouse with white lace, and floral slippers. Wrapped in a yellow and green blanket, with the legs pinned. She had an upper dental bridge with six teeth.

    • African American woman, about 21-30 years old
    • Height: 4’10 to 5’2″
    • Weight: 100 lbs
    • Dark brown or black hair tied in a ponytail
    • Brown eyes
    • Wearing blue-green shorts, a pink blouse with white lace, and blue floral slippers
    • Wrapped in yellow and green blanket.
    • Wore upper dental bridge with six teeth

    The slippers/shoes found with the remains of I-80 Jane Doe. Source: The Doe Network

    What’s Next?

    With this second exhumation, officials are hopeful they’ll get enough DNA to finally identify I-80 Jane Doe. If they can match her profile to any relatives, we might finally learn her name. And once we have that, maybe the truth about what happened to her will follow.

    For now, all we can do is wait. If 2024 is the year we identify I-80 Jane Doe, it could bring closure to a case that’s haunted Pennsylvania for far too long. Some even say the ghost of I-80 Jane Doe haunts the highway where her body was found. Will this be the year her name is finally revealed and she can find some peace?

    Hopefully, time, and science, will tell us very soon.

    © 2024 NEPATrueCrime.com. All rights reserved. The text on this website is the exclusive property of NEPATrueCrime.com and its authors. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of any original content is strictly prohibited. No part of this website may be copied, republished, or reproduced without explicit written permission.

    Sources:
    “Body of Woman Found at Tank,” Standard-Speaker, August 10, 1973, Page 15. via Newspapers.com 

    “Unidentified Woman to Be Buried Today,” Standard-Speaker, August 15, 1973, Page 26. via Newspapers.com 

    “Judge Grants Request to Exhume Remains Found on Highway Decades Ago,” Citizens’ Voice, August 13, 2016, Page T11. via Newspapers.com

    “Unsolved: I-80 Jane Doe 1973,” The Pennsylvania Rambler, August 31, 2022

    I-80 Jane Doe’s Profile on the Jane Doe Network

    I-80 Jane Doe’s Profile on NAMUS

  • Carlisle Street Debra Fox’s autopsy inconclusive; intense investigation ongoing

    Carlisle Street Debra Fox’s autopsy inconclusive; intense investigation ongoing

    Debra Jane Fox portrait photo
    Debra Jane Fox

    The autopsy was inconclusive for Debra “Debbie” Jane Fox, 69, whose remains were found behind the All Host Inn and Suites in Wilkes-Barre on March 26, 2024. The coroner could not determine what caused her death or whether her death was accidental, homicidal, suicidal, etc. This ruling can be changed if more evidence comes to light.

    Debra was reportedly last seen alive in mid-January 2024, per the district attorney. Her daughter Melissa Fox said she last saw her mother in November 2023, when Debra was staying at a local hotel.

    Donate to GoFundMe to help with Debra Fox funeral costs

    Local law enforcement didn’t publicly announce Debra’s cause of death; it was released in response to a right-to-know request from the Times Leader. Per the TL, investigators seem to be actively pursuing leads, with several search warrants filed. County President Judge Michael T. Vough has sealed those warrants so their contents aren’t available to the public at this time.

    Debra was the owner of 142 Carlisle Street and apparently was living at that home when Nicole Cuevas was held there against her will, tortured, murdered, and buried in the basement in April 2023. The D.A. says there is no evidence Debra was involved.

    Deep family roots at Carlisle Street

    The house at 142 Carlisle Street was owned by Debra’s parents since 1948. Debra’s aunt, her father’s sister, lived and raised a family in another one of these rowhouses. Debra’s father, Luke T. Race, died in 1974 at age 55. He was a veteran of World War II and had worked for the Glen Alden Coal Company.

    Debra’s mother, who was born in Virginia, passed away in 2002. After her mother’s passing, Debra and her husband Daniel Fox inherited the home, according to a deed filed in 2002 with the Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds. Husband Daniel Fox died in 2021. Only two years later, Debra lost the family home because of unpaid property taxes.

    Information needed

    Do you know anything about the death of Debra Jane Fox? Anyone with related information can contact Wilkes-Barre City Detective Division c/o Lt. Mathew Stash at 570-208-0911 or Detective James Conmy at 570-208-6775.

    You can also submit an anonymous tip through Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers. If your tip leads to an arrest, you could qualify for a $5,000 reward.

    Sources

    “Luke T Race, 55, of City, Taken by Death,” The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Monday, September 09, 1974, accessed on newspapers.com

    Luzerne County Recorder of Deeds, book 3002, page 214485, Estate of Elsie V. Race to Debra Fox and Daniel Fox

    “Daniel Fox,” Obituary, Citizens’ Voice, October 22, 2021, viewed on newspapers.com.

  • The Killer Called In: Justice for Juanita Marie Todd – Wilkes-Barre

    The Killer Called In: Justice for Juanita Marie Todd – Wilkes-Barre

    Portrait of Juanita Marie Todd, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
    Juanita Marie Todd. Image used with the permission of the Todd family


    HOMICIDE
    Juanita Marie Todd
    13 Academy Street
    Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
    Luzerne County
    22 years old
    September 28, 1972

    This post is an overview of the Juanita Todd case, and the first in a series about 1970s NEPA true-crime mysteries. Future posts will go into more detail about this tragic unsolved murder.

    Case Overview

    One of the most disturbing unsolved homicides in Northeastern Pennsylvania is the 1972 murder of Juanita Marie Todd. Not only was the crime itself horrific, but there are indications the original police investigation may have been mishandled. Even worse, there’s a long-held suspicion this case was intentionally allowed to go cold.

    “Some people in this city still believe police had enough evidence to charge a suspect with the murder, but — for whatever the reason — chose not to make an arrest.”

    — Steve Corbett, “A Fading Cry for Justice,” The Times Leader, Sept 30, 1993

    In September 1972, 22-year-old Juanita Todd was the mother of two daughters, aged 18 months and 5 months. Born in Tallahassee, Juanita moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, with her family when she was 11. She later attended G.A.R. High School and went on to work for Bell Telephone.

    In the weeks leading up to her death, Juanita moved into her own apartment on Academy Street and distanced herself from her children’s father.

    Explore more unsolved Northeast Pennsylvania cold cases.

    Academy Street map, where Juanita Marie Tood lived in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
    1934 Sanbourne Fire Map showing 13 Academy Street

    A Mysterious Phone Call

    Around 3 a.m. on Thursday, September 28, Sgt. Philip Gabriel answered the phone at the Wilkes-Barre police station. According to the Times Leader, an anonymous man told him there was a homicide in the second-floor apartment at 13 Academy Street. After sharing that alarming information, the unknown man disconnected the call.

    Minutes later, two patrol cars arrived at the predawn Academy Street scene, one after the other. With assistance from the young couple who lived on the first floor, police gained entry to Juanita’s apartment from the rear of the building.

    At approximately 3:15 a.m., officers walked into a horrific scene.

    The discovery of the body

    In the front bedroom of her apartment, Juanita Todd lay motionless on the floor. She was resting on her side in a thick pool of blood, with multiple stab wounds to her head and body. A white piece of what appeared to be bedsheet was knotted around her neck. Contusions marred the left side of her face and scalp and other parts of her body.

    She was unclothed, but there were no obvious signs of sexual assault. The horrifying scene was made even worse by the sight of a knife embedded in her abdomen. A large floor-model fan blew a steady breeze over the young mother, whose life was cruelly cut short.

    Juanita Todd, Wilkes-Barre, Newspaper headline

    “Babies Are Only Witnesses“

    Juanita’s 18-month-old daughter, Odetta, was sitting by her mother’s head in the pool of blood. Her 5-month-old daughter, Tamu, was awake in a crib nearby.

    Newspaper reports said there were no signs of a struggle in the apartment, but blood was splattered all around the bedroom “reflecting the intensity of the assailant wielding the [sharp] instrument.”

    Juanita’s daughters were taken to Wilkes-Barre General Hospital for examination, and in a miracle amidst tragedy, they were found to be healthy and physically unharmed.

    Black-and-white photo of the two-story house at 13 Academy Street where Juanita Todd, Wilkes-Barre, was murdered.
    “Home Where Murder Victim Lived,” The Times Leader (Sept. 28, 1972) Wilkes-Barre, PA.

    Time of Death

    Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Walter W. Lisman pronounced Juanita Marie Todd dead at the scene at 4:30 a.m. He noted that at 8:30 a.m., more than five hours after Juanita was found, the temperature outdoors was 50 F.

    Juanita was last seen on Tuesday night, September 26. The pathologist estimated that she died at least 15 hours before her 3:15 a.m. discovery on the 28th. Based on that timeline, her death would have occurred on or before noon, Wednesday, September 27.

    This suggests that both infants remained with their mother’s lifeless body for over 15 hours.

    However, a news article from January 1973 expanded the potential timeframe, indicating Juanita could have passed between 15 to 24 hours before her discovery at 3:15 a.m. It remains unclear what that revised estimate was based on.

    Read more unsolved local homicides from the 1970s.

    Questions about the time of death

    Death investigation experts say it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact time of death without an attending physician on the scene when the death occurs.

    That said, an unofficial source close to the case suggests that Juanita was likely murdered six to eight hours before she was discovered at 3 a.m.

    This estimate relies on techniques that consider factors such as body temperature and the onset of rigor mortis. If this is accurate, it could mean Juanita was killed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday, rather than before 12 p.m. that day, a major shift in the timeline.

    Also, some suspect the fan blowing on her body was placed there to try to throw off the time-of-death estimate.

    Autopsy Report


    The autopsy was performed at the Wyoming Valley Hospital morgue by Dr. William Kashatus, who determined the primary cause of death was a fatal stab wound to the heart. Penetrating punctures around the right side of the chest also contributed to her demise.

    In addition to “22 puncture wounds of the head and all over the body,” there were two superficial lacerations: one on her hand, and another marking her face. The hyoid bone, located in the middle front of the neck, was broken — an indication of manual strangulation.

    “My mom was tortured and tormented to death.”

    — Odetta Todd, as told to Steve Corbett, “Who Killed Juanita Todd, Part 1,” www.theoutloawcorbett.com

    Motives and Suspects

    “Robbery, jealousy, and vengeance are the three motives responsible for nearly all murders.”

    Dr. George Burgeas Magrath, professor of Legal Medicine, medical examiner of Suffolk County,NY. 

    Juanita’s daughter Odetta shared with journalist Steve Corbett that only three days before her murder, Juanita had arranged a meeting with Magistrate Michael Collins to secure a restraining order against three particular ex-friends. Why she was asking for that restraining order is not known to this writer.

    A 1978 news article stated that the murder was possibly drug-related. Or perhaps it was something personal, maybe involving Juanita’s common-law husband. Robbery does not appear to have been a motive. Some of the possible suspects:

    1. The babies’ father: The man listed on the girls’ birth certificates, who was not involved in raising them, took a lie detector test and passed. Based on that and his interviews with police, he was ruled out as a suspect.
    2. The Bodyguard: A male friend of Juanita’s, who described himself as her bodyguard, left town the night before he was due to take a police lie detector test. He has long been considered the primary suspect, but information that came to light later casts doubt on his guilt.
    3. A member or members of a local drug ring: It is rumored that Juanita, who didn’t want drugs in her home, found a valuable quantity of drugs and flushed them. Perhaps her murder was retribution for that.
    4. A stranger: Police have surmised that Juanita’s killer could have been one of many people from out of town who were in Wilkes-Barre to help with the Agnes flood cleanup.

    The police may have other suspects and persons of interest that we just don’t know about.

    “We…have not been able to forget the case of the Todd girl who hated drugs and was about to blow the whistle on some limelight person when she was murdered mysteriously, with the murderers being paid off to leave town and never being brought to justice. [T]he Todd girl held life too dear to have hers snuffed out.” — A Black Resident

    From an anonymous Letter to the Editor (Citizen’s Voice, Nov 11, 1978). While the suggestions that Juanita was about to “blow the whistle” and “murderers[were] paid off” are considered rumors, this Letter to the Editor shows what people thought about this case, particularly members of Wilkes-Barre’s Black community.

    Initial Investigation

    The newspaper stated that police were investigating this murder around the clock.

    Below is a summary of what was publicly shared with the media in the early stages of the investigation:


    👁️ Witness accounts: No one reported seeing an individual entering or leaving Juanita’s apartment at the time of the murder. The downstairs neighbors said they hadn’t heard anything amiss from upstairs.

    🔍 Scene analysis: The officer first on the scene, Thomas Bird, told journalist Steve Corbett it appeared someone had washed Juanita’s face after her death. He also said it appeared the babies had been fed and diapers changed.

    🍞 Fresh evidence: Detective Bird also told Corbett he found an open loaf of bread on the counter. He said he reached in to touch the bread, and it was still soft and fresh, even though the woman had been dead for at least 15 hours. (Times Leader, Oct. 10, 1993)

    It seems the murderer either stayed on the scene for a long time after or possibly left and returned to check on the children later.

    🧬 Forensic evidence: Police told the family that a hair was found at the scene that didn’t belong to Juanita. (Times Leader, April 30, 2000)

    📞 Traced call: The anonymous call to police was said to have been traced to a phone booth at the nearby Penn Plaza Shopping Center. That was announced three days after the crime.

    Then-Captain of Detectives John Lowe, photo taken during a probe into possible police mishandling of the Juanita Todd case and others, 1979

    One year later

    1973: A Times Leader article published one year after the murder reported that the case was being investigated mainly by Detective Captain John W. Lowe, Detective Bernard Banas, and Detective John Bilecki.

    Det. Capt. Lowe told the TL that Wilkes-Barre police were working closely with the State Police Crime Laboratory at the Wyoming Barracks, adding that Trooper William Koscinski was assigned to the case.

    Lowe stated that over the year following the murder, four people, including one woman, voluntarily took lie detector tests administered by a Montoursville State Police specialist, and they passed (TL, Jan. 7, 1973). One person refused the test. Nearly 80 people were interviewed.

    When asked if he had a suspect or suspects, Lowe answered, “Yes,” but refused to say more.

    1974: After a brief mention in the Times Leader in 1974, local news outlets pretty much fell silent about the Juanita Todd case.

    That is, until 1978, when a probe was launched into the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department (more about that to come in future posts).

    In 2002, Odetta Todd, Juanita’s daughter, launched her own investigation into her mother’s murder. She spoke with former Capt. of Detectives John Lowe, who told her that investigators found a tire iron in the sink at Juanita’s apartment. He also said they recovered three sets of fingerprints, contrary to news reports that the killer had wiped the place clean.

    What About DNA?

    The great news is we’ve heard Wilkes-Barre police are currently reinvestigating this case. As far as we know, the last time local authorities formally looked into this case was in 1994. The hope is that W-B police will revisit all the evidence and send it out for modern DNA testing. They have not disclosed what evidence they have in their possession, citing the confidentiality required in an ongoing murder investigation, but they could have the following:

    • The knife
    • The piece of bedsheet from the victim’s neck
    • The tire iron that was in the sink
    • The foreign hair
    • Fibers from beneath the victim’s fingernails
    • A blood-splattered coin from the home of a possible witness

      They should also have fingerprint evidence, interview notes, and polygraph results.

    Information Needed

    • If you have any information you think might help solve this case, please contact the Wilkes-Barre Police Department at (570) 208-4200.
    • You can also send anonymous tips through PA Crime Stoppers (online) or by calling the PA Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. You’ll receive a $5,000 reward if your tip leads to an arrest.

    The Juanita Todd Case in the News

    Print/Web:

    Sources:

    •”Break Seen in Death of Juanita Todd,” The Times Leader, October 1, 1972
    • “City Woman, 22, Found Murdered,” The Times Leader, Sept. 28, 1972
    • Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Sanborn Map Company, Vol. 2, 1934
    • “Wilkes-Barre Police Still Investigate Year-Old Murder,” The Times Leader, September 23, 1973
    • Steve Corbett, “A Fading Cry for Justice,” The Times Leader, 30 Sept. 1993.
    • Steve Corbett, “A Search That Must Not End,” The Times Leader, 10 Oct. 1993.
    • Steve Corbett, “Somebody, Do Something, ” The Times Leader, 06 Feb 1994.
    • Steve Corbett, “New Evidence in Case Worth a Look,” The Times Leader, 30 Apr 2000.
    • TheOutlawCorbett.com/news
    • Juanita Todd: Dateline Cold Case Spotlight by Nicolás Viñuela.