Reber grand jury comes up empty
By LES STEWART
Lebanon Daily News
Insufficient evidence exists to indict anyone for the 1968 murder of 14-year-old Peggy Reber, a Lebanon County grand jury investigating her homicide concluded in a report made public yesterday.
“We conclude that no probable cause exists for us to recommend any person, to include Richard Boyer, be indicted for the 1968 murder of Margaret “Peggy” Reber,” the grand jury wrote.
Over a period of eight months, the 23-member grand jury met 11 times and heard testimony from 33 witnesses and reviewed 463 pages of exhibits.
“There is no forensic evidence linking any known individual to the murder,” the report states.
Reber was strangled and brutally mutilated during the Memorial Day weekend of
Lebanon city police officers study the blood-stained floor of Peggy Reber s bedroom for evidence in this photo from May 1968. (Lebanon Daily News File Photo)1968. She died while she was alone in the apartment she shared with her mother.
“We found no competent or credible evidence linking Richard Boyer or any other known person to the murder of Margaret “Peggy” Reber,” the panel wrote. “In reaching this conclusion, we do not intend to exonerate Richard Boyer or any other person. However, we are deeply troubled by the concerted efforts undertaken to implicate Richard Boyer in a 40-year-old homicide absent the existence of reliable evidence against him. We conclude that Michelle Gooden, with the assistance of others, was largely responsible for this effort. Gooden went so far as to influence witnesses and the stories that they told,” the report said.
District Attorney David Arnold discounted a suggestion that much of the grand jury report centered on criticizing Michelle Gooden, a former Lebanon resident who is working on a book about the Reber murder. Gooden has been a vocal critic of the latest investigation into the murder.
Gooden’s name was not mentioned in the grand jury’s findings, Arnold said. However, her name is mentioned repeatedly in the body of the grand-jury report.
Read the Reber report here 40-year-old murder case, anywhere in this country, is nearly impossible,” Arnold said yesterday afternoon after the report was released. “Anybody who cannot accept that as a fact isn’t realistic.”
He said the investigation of the case was made more difficult by a handful of people in the community who circulated rumors about the case.
“That made it more difficult,” Arnold said.
He said his office spoke to experts across the country to seek assistance in their investigation.
The district attorney also said Richard Boyer appeared before the grand jury to testify, without an attorney.
Judge Bradford H. Charles, who was the supervising judge of the grand jury, signed an order yesterday
Read the Gooden report here. releasing the grand-jury report to the public.
The grand jury stated its job of investigating a 40-year-old murder was complicated by the controversy and conspiracy theories.
“We found it very difficult to distinguish true facts from those generated from rumor and theory, or those which were simply fabricated and utilized as ‘a means to an end,’” the report said.
The grand jury wrote that there was no evidence of a cover-up or a conspiracy on the part of any investigator or prosecutor involved in the case.
“Not one witness provided us with factual support for any such theory. In fact, objectively verifiable evidence tends to disprove such theories. In spite of this, conspiracy theories persist as some admittedly have a keen interest in generating controversy for economic and political reasons, “ the grand jury report stated.
Richard Boyer testified before the grand jury and denied any involvement in Reber’s murder.
“As to Richard Boyer’s alleged involvement in Reber’s murder, we heard absolutely no competent, credible, or reliable evidence from which to conclude that Richard Boyer was involved in Reber’s murder,” the grand jury wrote. “In fact, evidence obtained in 1968 led investigators to conclude that Boyer was not involved in the murder.”
Although Richard Boyer was the first person on a list of 84 possible suspects prepared by investigators in 1968, evidence showed he was at work at Reading Alloy in Robesonia the night of the murder and went home at 11:05 p.m. right after work on the night of the murder, the report states. Investigators obtained his time card, and his co-workers and supervisor corroborated his alibi, the report adds.
Richard Boyer learned of Reber’s murder the next morning, the report states.
The report also states that Richard Boyer provided DNA samples for potential comparison, but a forensic scientist with a private forensic lab in Willow Grove was unable to isolate DNA material from existing evidence, such as the belt used to strangle Reber.
“The murder of Peggy Reber was a horrific crime,” the grand jury stated in its conclusion. “The investigation of the crime was complicated by the unfortunate and dysfunctional environment in which Peggy was raised. We are disappointed to conclude that some who were the most vocal advocates of “Justice for Peggy” were motivated by interests wholly unrelated to legitimate interests of justice.”
In 1970, a Lebanon County jury acquitted Arthur M. Root Jr. of murdering Reber. Root, who had had an affair with Reber’s mother, was the only man ever charged with the crime.
Interest in the murder was renewed in 2006 when the Lebanon Daily News reported that Lebanon police officer Kevin Snavely had reopened the cold case.
A year later, the Daily News ran an article quoting Gooden’s startling claim that the killer was alive and living in Lebanon.
Gooden’s accusation generated a public outcry for Arnold to convene a grand jury. In January 2008, more than 2,000 people, including Reber’s twin sister, Kathy Meador, signed a petition calling for a grand jury.
The grand jury report states Meador gave statements to police in 1968 that were corroborated by other witnesses, but in recent years “has given inconsistent statements concerning her recollection of events.”
“In identifying Boyer as a suspect in Reber’s murder, Kevin Snavely testified that he relied primarily on statements made by Kathryn Meador,” the grand jury report states. “Snavely reported that Kathryn told him that she was ‘coached’ by Richard Boyer and his mother as to what to tell investigators in 1968.”
But during her grand jury testimony, she denied that she was coached in 1968 as to what to say to investigators. However, she acknowledged, she relied on input from others because of her age and the shock of her sister’s murder.
Richard Boyer was first publicly implicated as a suspect in Reber’s murder in a lawsuit Snavely filed against city officials and others after he was fired in 2008 from his job as a city-police detective.
The grand jury report also notes that only a small amount of evidence from the original investigation remains. Much of it was damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Agnes in June 1972 when it was in the care of the Lebanon Police Department.
In April last year, Reber’s body was exhumed, but the advanced stage of decomposition of her remains made forensic testing impossible, the report states.
LesStewart@LDNews.com
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Pennsylvania Wall of Fallen Heroes
A mobile memorial that pays tribute to Pennsylvanians killed in Afghanistan and Iraq will be displayed in Lebanon later this month.
The Pennsylvania Wall of Fallen Heroes, which lists the names of 228 Pennsylvanians killed since 2001, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Fisher Veterans Park.
The memorial that will be on display is a portable version of the actual Wall of Fallen Heroes, which was initially constructed in 2003 and is located in Millersburg, Dauphin County.
Any donations collected during the wall’s visit to Lebanon will benefit the maintenance and upkeep of the permanent and moving versions of the Wall of Fallen Heroes.
Chris Keiser, chairman of Project Welcome Home, said he developed the idea to bring the wall to Lebanon after going to see it in March in Manheim.
“It’s nothing like the Vietnam moving wall, but it’s touching,” he said. “They did a good job on it.”
In addition to bringing the Wall of Fallen Heroes to Lebanon, Project Welcome Home is planning other events for 2009. Among them is a “Buy-a-Brick” campaign to raise funds for improvements to the Lebanon County Veterans Memorial, also at Fisher Veterans Park.
The bricks, selling for $50 each, comprise the walkway leading to the memorial and the deck that surrounds the memorial. Some are already engraved.
“The bricks that are already there are from when it was originally built, and we’re going to have one of our tombstone engravers come in from Gingrich Memorials and engrave them on-site,” Keiser said.
Project Welcome Home will also assist the 328th Brigade Support Battalion’s family-readiness group in planning and preparing welcome-home events and ceremonies for soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard now deployed in Iraq who are scheduled to return in September.
“One of the things we had thought of is to give them an escort,” Keiser said. “We’re assuming they would come off the turnpike and into Lebanon, ... so one of the things we thought about doing is having a police escort and something that resembles a parade.”
A member organization of the Lebanon Veterans Advisory Council, Project Welcome Home is a veterans-support group dedicated to the promotion of and participation in veterans-oriented events.
“We try to get the civilian population involved in helping out and just generally just promote patriotism and make sure everybody stays behind our armed forces,” said Keiser, whose son, Chris, is serving in Iraq with the 56th Stryker Brigade’s 328th Base Support Battalion.
For more information and photos of the wall, visit the Web site at http://www.myspace.com/walloffallenheroes
The Pennsylvania Wall of Fallen Heroes, which lists the names of 228 Pennsylvanians killed since 2001, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Fisher Veterans Park.
The memorial that will be on display is a portable version of the actual Wall of Fallen Heroes, which was initially constructed in 2003 and is located in Millersburg, Dauphin County.
Any donations collected during the wall’s visit to Lebanon will benefit the maintenance and upkeep of the permanent and moving versions of the Wall of Fallen Heroes.
Chris Keiser, chairman of Project Welcome Home, said he developed the idea to bring the wall to Lebanon after going to see it in March in Manheim.
“It’s nothing like the Vietnam moving wall, but it’s touching,” he said. “They did a good job on it.”
In addition to bringing the Wall of Fallen Heroes to Lebanon, Project Welcome Home is planning other events for 2009. Among them is a “Buy-a-Brick” campaign to raise funds for improvements to the Lebanon County Veterans Memorial, also at Fisher Veterans Park.
The bricks, selling for $50 each, comprise the walkway leading to the memorial and the deck that surrounds the memorial. Some are already engraved.
“The bricks that are already there are from when it was originally built, and we’re going to have one of our tombstone engravers come in from Gingrich Memorials and engrave them on-site,” Keiser said.
Project Welcome Home will also assist the 328th Brigade Support Battalion’s family-readiness group in planning and preparing welcome-home events and ceremonies for soldiers from the Pennsylvania National Guard now deployed in Iraq who are scheduled to return in September.
“One of the things we had thought of is to give them an escort,” Keiser said. “We’re assuming they would come off the turnpike and into Lebanon, ... so one of the things we thought about doing is having a police escort and something that resembles a parade.”
A member organization of the Lebanon Veterans Advisory Council, Project Welcome Home is a veterans-support group dedicated to the promotion of and participation in veterans-oriented events.
“We try to get the civilian population involved in helping out and just generally just promote patriotism and make sure everybody stays behind our armed forces,” said Keiser, whose son, Chris, is serving in Iraq with the 56th Stryker Brigade’s 328th Base Support Battalion.
For more information and photos of the wall, visit the Web site at http://www.myspace.com/walloffallenheroes
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Quick Facts
Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Border detail of Lebanon and surrounding municipalities
Coordinates: 40°20′30″N 76°25′15″W / 40.34167°N 76.42083°W / 40.34167; -76.42083
State Pennsylvania
County Lebanon
Laid out 1756
Incorporated 1821
Charter 1885
Area
- Total 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2)
Population (2000)
- Total 24,461
- Density 5,812.3/sq mi (2,244.13/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Lebanon, formerly known as Steitztown[1], is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States.[2] The population was 24,461 at the 2000 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, 26 miles (42 km) east of Harrisburg and 29 miles (47 km) west of Reading in Pennsylvania.
Lebanon was first settled in 1720 by early settlers, many with the family names of "Steitz" and "Light", along a creek that was then named "Steitz Creek". The Light patriarchs built an Indian Fort and named it "Light's Fort" during this time. The town was laid out in 1753. The town was incorporated as a borough on February 20, 1821 and became a city on November 25, 1885. It adopted the commission form of government, consisting of four councilmen and a mayor.
In 1900, 17,628 people lived in Lebanon; in 1910, 19,240 people lived there; in 1920, 24,643 people lived there; and in 1940, 27,206 people lived in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Lebanon bologna was first made here. Lebanon was formerly home to a major steel mill operated by Bethlehem Steel.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km²), all of it land.
Lebanon is bordered to the north and east by North Lebanon Township (4.5 mi), to the south and east by South Lebanon Township (3.22 mi), to the west by West Lebanon Township (1.07 mi), and to the south and west by North Cornwall Township (4.38 mi). The Quittapahilla Creek drains the city westward into the Susquehanna River via the Swatara Creek.
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 24,461 people, 10,266 households, and 6,056 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,844.8 people per square mile (2,254.0/km²). There were 11,220 housing units at an average density of 2,681.0/sq mi (1,033.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.50% White, 3.23% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 8.11% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.43% of the population.
There were 10,266 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,259, and the median income for a family was $34,045. Males had a median income of $26,957 versus $20,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,584. About 12.8% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education is provided by the Lebanon School District and the Cornwall-Lebanon School District. Private institutions include Lebanon Catholic High School, New Covenant Christian School and Lebanon Christian Academy. All three private institutions have a varsity sports department and an elementary, junior high, and senior high. Students in the Cornwall-Lebanon and Lebanon School Districts also may attend the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC). The city is home to Harrisburg Area Community College's Lebanon Campus.
Culture
Lebanon is one of the many Pennsylvania towns to drop or raise a unique item at midnight on New Year's Eve. A local manufacturer donates a Lebanon Bologna for the annual festivity. It is encased in a metal frame and suspended from a fire department ladder truck. After the celebration it is donated to the local rescue mission.[5]
An infamous 19th century murder in Fort Indiantown Gap resulted in a trial of six defendants who all had blue eyes. They became known as the Blue Eyed Six, given the moniker by a newspaper reporter who was attending the trial. Their murder trial, held in the county courthouse in Lebanon, received worldwide publicity and inspired Arthur Conan Doyle while he was writing "The Red-Headed League". Five of the six defendants were hanged at the county jail.[6]
Wertz Candy Shop was featured in Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.[7]
Notable people from Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Thomas Albert, composer
Sam Bowie, NBA center
Ann Coleman, landscaper
Kerry Collins, NFL quarterback
Bobby Gerhart, NASCAR/ARCA driver
Joe Frazier, of The Chad Mitchell Trio
Frank Reich, former NFL quarterback
George S. Rentz, World War II Navy Cross recipient and United States Navy Chaplain
Border detail of Lebanon and surrounding municipalities
Coordinates: 40°20′30″N 76°25′15″W / 40.34167°N 76.42083°W / 40.34167; -76.42083
State Pennsylvania
County Lebanon
Laid out 1756
Incorporated 1821
Charter 1885
Area
- Total 4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2)
Population (2000)
- Total 24,461
- Density 5,812.3/sq mi (2,244.13/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Lebanon, formerly known as Steitztown[1], is a city in and the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States.[2] The population was 24,461 at the 2000 census. Lebanon is located in the central part of the Lebanon Valley, 26 miles (42 km) east of Harrisburg and 29 miles (47 km) west of Reading in Pennsylvania.
Lebanon was first settled in 1720 by early settlers, many with the family names of "Steitz" and "Light", along a creek that was then named "Steitz Creek". The Light patriarchs built an Indian Fort and named it "Light's Fort" during this time. The town was laid out in 1753. The town was incorporated as a borough on February 20, 1821 and became a city on November 25, 1885. It adopted the commission form of government, consisting of four councilmen and a mayor.
In 1900, 17,628 people lived in Lebanon; in 1910, 19,240 people lived there; in 1920, 24,643 people lived there; and in 1940, 27,206 people lived in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Lebanon bologna was first made here. Lebanon was formerly home to a major steel mill operated by Bethlehem Steel.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km²), all of it land.
Lebanon is bordered to the north and east by North Lebanon Township (4.5 mi), to the south and east by South Lebanon Township (3.22 mi), to the west by West Lebanon Township (1.07 mi), and to the south and west by North Cornwall Township (4.38 mi). The Quittapahilla Creek drains the city westward into the Susquehanna River via the Swatara Creek.
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 24,461 people, 10,266 households, and 6,056 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,844.8 people per square mile (2,254.0/km²). There were 11,220 housing units at an average density of 2,681.0/sq mi (1,033.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.50% White, 3.23% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 8.11% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.43% of the population.
There were 10,266 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,259, and the median income for a family was $34,045. Males had a median income of $26,957 versus $20,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,584. About 12.8% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.7% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public education is provided by the Lebanon School District and the Cornwall-Lebanon School District. Private institutions include Lebanon Catholic High School, New Covenant Christian School and Lebanon Christian Academy. All three private institutions have a varsity sports department and an elementary, junior high, and senior high. Students in the Cornwall-Lebanon and Lebanon School Districts also may attend the Lebanon County Career and Technology Center (LCCTC). The city is home to Harrisburg Area Community College's Lebanon Campus.
Culture
Lebanon is one of the many Pennsylvania towns to drop or raise a unique item at midnight on New Year's Eve. A local manufacturer donates a Lebanon Bologna for the annual festivity. It is encased in a metal frame and suspended from a fire department ladder truck. After the celebration it is donated to the local rescue mission.[5]
An infamous 19th century murder in Fort Indiantown Gap resulted in a trial of six defendants who all had blue eyes. They became known as the Blue Eyed Six, given the moniker by a newspaper reporter who was attending the trial. Their murder trial, held in the county courthouse in Lebanon, received worldwide publicity and inspired Arthur Conan Doyle while he was writing "The Red-Headed League". Five of the six defendants were hanged at the county jail.[6]
Wertz Candy Shop was featured in Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe.[7]
Notable people from Lebanon, Pennsylvania
Thomas Albert, composer
Sam Bowie, NBA center
Ann Coleman, landscaper
Kerry Collins, NFL quarterback
Bobby Gerhart, NASCAR/ARCA driver
Joe Frazier, of The Chad Mitchell Trio
Frank Reich, former NFL quarterback
George S. Rentz, World War II Navy Cross recipient and United States Navy Chaplain
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