The murder of Mildred I. Wilson, of Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, occurred in January, 1978. It was previously reported on this blog in a series of five posts. At the time, neither the Millersburg nor the Harrisburg newspapers were available on line, so the murder was reported as “unsolved.” The Harrisburg Patriot is now available on-line through NewsBank, a digital resource made available to library card holders of the Free Library of Philadelphia. The Millersburg newspaper, the Upper Dauphin Sentinel, is not available on-line at this time.
The murder of Mildred Wilson was one of four murders of older women that occurred at about the same time. Older women, particularly widows who lived alone, were terrified and the police felt pressured into solving the crimes. In the case of one of the murders that occurred in Gratz, the young man who was arrested and charged was found not-guilty and he later sued several State police officers for falsifying the evidence that was presented against him. He won the suit. In another case, in Tremont, the young man who was charged was also acquitted. There was much speculation in the Lykens Valley that the cases were linked together, but the police insisted that the Millersburg murder was definitely not linked to the others.
Over two years after the murder of Mrs. Wilson, a Millersburg man, Ronald Eugene Long, was arrested and charged with the crime. Long claimed he did not strangle Mrs. Wilson, but witnessed another man, Joseph Keller, 20, also of Millersburg, strangle her. A third individual, a 13-year-old youth, was also involved as all three were participating in a burglary. Nevertheless, Long went to trial alone and was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Both Joseph Keller and Ronald Eugene Long had criminal records and were serving sentences on other offenses at the time the charges were made. However, it is not known at this time what happened to Joseph Keller and whether he was ever charged in the murder of Mildred Wilson. The 13-year old, whose name appeared in several news articles, may have been processed in the juvenile system, but to what extent, it is not known.
The news articles presented below tell the story of Long’s arrest and conviction.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, June 28, 1980:
MAN, 19, CHARGED IN ’78 SLAYING: STRANGULATION OF MILLERSBURG WOMAN
MILLERSBURG — A 19-year-old borough man Friday was arrested in connection with the 1978 strangulation of Mrs. Mildred I. Wilson, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Richard A. Lewis.
Ronald Eugene Long, who gave an address in the 700 block of Union Street, was charged with criminal homicide, burglary and conspiracy, and was committed to Dauphin County Prison without bail, Lewis said.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled before District Justice Francis Reichenbach for July 17 at 11 a. m.
Lewis said Long was arrested Friday at 2 a. m. at his home by Harrisburg Troop H, Cpl. Samuel Strawser, troopers from the Lykens substation and borough police.
“The investigation is still continuing and investigators have not dismissed the possibility of other individuals being involved either in the actual commission of the crime or the planning of it,” he said.
Ruling out a connection between the Millersburg crime and the strangulation of three other elderly women in 1977 and last year, Lewis said, “There is absolutely no evidence to link this slaying with that of others in the area.”
Mrs. Wilson, 80, of 874 Union Street, was found strangled in her stone-faced bungalow on January 20, 1978.
The Wilson death and the slayings of Mrs. Helen Horn of Gratz and Mrs. Elsie Schoffstall of Lykens, both killed last year, and Mrs. Jennie Barr of Tremont, found strangled in 1977, created fear and apprehension in Upper Dauphin County.
Police had speculated on a link in the latter three, but believed the Millersburg case to be unrelated.
A Gratz youth was arrested and prosecuted in the Horn case, but a Dauphin Count jury found him innocent late last year.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, July 12, 1980:
MILLERSBURG MAN BOUND OVER IN 1978 SLAYING CASE
CHARGED IN STRANGULATION OF ELDERLY WOMAN
By Dick Sarge, Staff Writer
ELIZABETHVILLE — An 18-year-old Millersburg man charged in the strangulation slaying in January 1978 of Mildred I. Wilson, 80, of 872 Union St., Millersburg, was bound over to court on Friday.
The suspect is Ronald Eugene Long of the 700 block of Union Street, who was 15 at the time of the incident. A statement to police by Long, presented in testimony at the preliminary hearing before District Justice Francis J. Reichenbach here admitted the youth’s role in the affair, but denied killing the elderly woman.
Cpl. Samuel Strawser, state police criminal investigator, testified that Long confessed in a statement to him, District Attorney Richard A. Lewis and other law enforcement officials on June 2 that he was in the Wilson residence, but that he had seen Joseph Keller, 20, also of Millersburg, choke the woman with his hands before strangling her with he own belt.
Long also told police in the statement, according to Strawser, that he saw Keller take Mrs. Wilson’s wallet from her purse and remove money from it.
The statement, Strawser testified, also implicated a Millersburg juvenile, 13 years old at the time of the slaying, as an accomplice in what Long told Strawser he thought was going to be a robbery.
In the statement presented in Strawser’s testimony, Long told of being approached by Keller and asked, “Would you like to go along and bump off an old lady?”
He was afraid of Keller, Long said in the statement, and went along, but said he thought “they were only going to rob the lady,” Strawser testified.
Long was arrested and arraigned on June 27, charged with murder, burglary and conspiracy. He was imprisoned without bail.
According to Millersburg Police Chief Ken Rose, Keller is serving a sentence in Dauphin County Prison on a defiant trespass and aggravated assault conviction.
Rose reported that Long was serving a sentence for check-forgery in the county prison when he was interviewed by police investigating his possible role in the Wilson murder.
Dr. Ben B. Harriman of Clearwater, Florida, a former staff member at Polyclinic Medical Center who was on vacation in this area at the time, performed the autopsy on Mrs. Wilson.
He testified that the elderly woman died of strangulation and that she also had 17 of her 24 ribs fractured.
Under cross-examination, Harriman testified that the victim’s face bore no marks of blows and that he did not test for possible sexual molestation or examine the victim’s fingernails for flesh and blood. But, he testified, the injuries to the ribs indicate to him that a struggle had taken place.
Capt. Bayles Macy of the Millersburg Police Department testified that the woman’s body was on its back on her living-room floor when he arrived shortly after a neighbor summoned police. The neighbors, Macy said, occasionally checked on the elderly woman and saw her body through a door window.
According to Macy, a narrow ladies’ belt was bound tightly around her neck and that one shoe was off, but, on cross-examination, said that no furniture was knocked over to suggest a struggle and that her clothing “was not disheveled.”
Strawser testified that Long was first questioned soon after the incident, because he occasionally would be engaged by the victim to shovel her walk. In continuing interviews with police, however, he said he was walking in an alley nearby and saw Keller run from the house, then later confessed that he too, was in the house when Mrs. Wilson was slain, Strawser said.
Strawser testified that before Long made the voluntary statement about his involvement, however, a fingerprint was found on a photograph beside the body was determine to be Long’s.
Long was returned to the county jail after the hearing, pending the fixing of bail.
The prosecution’s case was presented by Todd Hoover, Dauphin County deputy district attorney.
Long was represented by Attorney Fran Socha of the public defender’s office. The defense did not present any witnesses.
Strawser reported the investigation is continuing into the alleged roles of Keller and the juvenile in the slaying. Keller has not been charged in the crime.
The hearing had been scheduled for last week and the pathologist was summoned to attend from Florida, where is affiliated with Morton-Plant Hospital. However, it was rescheduled for Thursday when Dr. Harriman sent word he would be back in the area again this week on vacation.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, July 12, 1980:
MURDER CASE OF MILLERSBURG MAN SENT TO COUNTY COURT
ELIZABETHVILLE — An 18-year old Millersburg man charged in the strangulation staying in January 1978 of Mildred I. Wilson, 80, 872 Union Street, Millersburg, was bound over to court Friday.
The suspect, Ronald Eugene Long, of the 700 block of Union Street, confessed in a statement to police that he was in the Wilson residence, but that he had seen Joseph Keller, 20, also of Millersburg, choke the woman with his hands before strangling her with her belt.
Long also told police in the statement according to Cpl. Samuel Strawser, state police criminal investigator, that he saw Keller take Mrs. Wilson’s wallet from her purse and take money from it.
In the statement presented in Strawser’s testimony. Long told of being approached by Keller and asked, “Would you like to go along and bump off an old lady?”
He was afraid of Keller, Long said in the statement, and went along, but said he thought, “They were only going to rob the lady,” Strawser testified.
Long was arrested and arraigned on June 27, charged with murder, burglary and conspiracy. he was imprisoned without bail.
Dr. Ben B. Harriman of Clearwater, Florida, who was in the area on vacation, performed the autopsy and testified that the elderly woman died of strangulation and that she also had 17 ribs fractured.
Strawser reported the investigation is continuing into the alleged roles of Keller and a juvenile (age 13 at the time of the slaying) in the slaying.
Keller has not been charged in the crime.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, August 21, 1980:
JUDGE SETS HIGH BAIL FOR SUSPECT IN SLAYING
A Dauphin County Court judge Wednesday set high bail for [a man] accused of… [a killing]… in Millersburg….
Judge Warren G. Morgan set bail at $150,000 for Ronald Eugene Long, 18, of the 700 block of Union Street Millersburg. Long is charged with criminal homicide, burglary and conspiracy in connection with the 1978 strangulation of an elderly Millersburg woman….
Todd Hoover, deputy district attorney, had requested wither that bail be denied Long or that it be set at a high amount, saying it would be a “travesty to have someone get out on bail for a charge of this kind.”
Cpl. Samuel Strawser, a state police criminal investigator, testified that Long has given police statements in which he admits to being at the scene when 81-year-old Mildred I. Wilson of 872 Union Street, was strangled in her home in January 1978.
However, Strawser said Long claimed he thought he was going to assist in a burglary and did not take part in the killing.
In the statement reported through Strawser’s testimony, Long said he went to the scene with 20-year old Joseph Keller, also of Millersburg, after Keller asked Long if he “would like to go bump off an old lady.”
Long’s statement indicated that he witnessed Keller strangling the elderly woman after he entered her residence from a side door, Strawser said. Strawser quoted Long as saying Keller had earlier entered through the front door.
Keller is serving a sentence in Dauphin County Prison on a defiant trespass and aggravated assault conviction.
Attorney Fran Socha of the Public Defender’s Office asked the court to be lenient in setting bail since Long’s girlfriend is pregnant and the defendant wanted to be present for the expected birth of the child in September.
Socha also noted that while Long has admitted to being at the scene of the crime, he never admitted to participating in the slaying.
After listening to both sides, Morgan posted the $150,000 bail without comment….
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, October 21, 1980:
Ronald Eugene Long, 18, of the 700 block of Union Street, Millersburg, pleaded guilty to forgery. Sentencing was deferred.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, November 11, 1980
LOCAL YOUTH DENIED CASE TRANSFER
A Millersburg youth charged with criminal homicide in the 1978 strangulation of an elderly woman, failed Monday in his attempt to have his case transferred from adult to juvenile court.
Dauphin County Judge Clarence C. Morrison denied a request by assistant public defender Francis Socha that Ronald Eugene Long, 18, of the 700 Block Union Street, be transferred to juvenile court for adjudication rather than face a trial as an adult.
Morrison’s decision comes two days after Long and two other inmate at Dauphin County Prison allegedly attempted to break out of the 200-cell facility in Swatara Township.
Prison Board Chairman Stephen R. Reed said Monday the attempted escape was discovered at 8:10 p. m. Saturday on the second floor of cell block A. He said Cpl. William Comrey caught Long sawing bars with a hacksaw.
The two other inmates allegedly involved in bringing a hacksaw into the prison are David Kochel, 22, of Hummelstown RD 2, and Kenneth Fuller.
Kochel is charged with criminal homicide in the stabbing death of Ronald Eugene Miller Jr., 19, in Lower Paxton Township in mid-September, and Fuller is awaiting trial on robbery and theft charges.
All three inmates are now being housed in the prison’s behavioral adjustment unit, Reed said.
The investigation shows that the saw blade made its way into the prison through an outside trash detail and there was sold to an inmate for a carton of cigarettes. Reed said it was later given to Long, he added.
Reed said Comray is being issued a commendation for his alertness in thwarting the escape,. Information has been turned over to the District Attorney’s Office for the filing of charges.
In court Monday, Morrison made his decision after hearing testimony from Dr. Stanley E. Schneier, a clinical psychologist called by Socha, that Long’s social adjustment “is poor” and that he is “not verbally able to demonstrate average common sense.
Long comes from a “loveless” and “Stormy environment,” Schneier said. Long has a poor work history and although he completed the 10th grade, he works at a sixth-grade level, he said.
Schneier said, based on his September interview with Long, he “appears amenable to (rehabilitation) treatment.” He recommended a program of educational and vocational training with therapy in a secure facility.
Deputy District Attorney Todd Hoover called Long’s former probation officer, James Gunderman, who supervised Long in June 1978, when he faced an unrelated burglary charge. Gunderman said Long’s behavior was “uncooperative.” Long violated his curfew and was suspended from school, he added.
Long’s “overall adjustment (during that probation period) was unsatisfactory,” Gunderman said.
Hoover argued that Socha failed to prove that Long should be transferred to juvenile court. He said juvenile law provides for an automatic transfer of youths from juvenile to adult court in a criminal homicide case.
Mrs. Wilson, 81, of 872 Union Street, was strangled in her home in January 1978. Long was then 16. state police made their first arrest in the case in June when Long, now 18, was charged.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, November 12, 1980:
SUPPRESSION HEARING HELD IN MILLERSBURG MURDER CASE
HARRISBURG — A hearing on whether to suppress evidence in the 1978 murder of an elderly Millersburg woman continued today in Dauphin County Court.
Ronald Eugene Long, 18, Millersburg, is charged with murdering Mildred Wilson, whose beaten body was found January 21, 1978, in their home. He is also charged with burglary and conspiracy.
The hearing before Judge Clarence Morrison was expected to end today, and Long’s trial was expected to begin.
Morrison Monday denied a pretrial motion by Long’s attorney to transfer the case back to juvenile court. Long was 16 years old at the time of the murder.
His attorney said tests conducted in September showed Long had lower-than-average intelligence, and that he has a poor educational record, came from a split home and said in a June 2 statement that he was not the murderer.
However, Todd Hoover, Dauphin County assistant district attorney, said juveniles are almost automatically certified as adults in murder cases.
Testimony in the suppression hearing centered around the validity of statements Long made to Samuel Strawser of the state police at Harrisburg during two interviews.
Strawser testified that Long was read his rights and was aware of them at all time. He also said the police suspected Long before he gave a statement implicating himself.
Long was arrested and charged June 27.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, November 13, 1980:
MAN CONVICTED IN 1978 HOMICIDE
RONALD LONG FACES LIFE SENTENCE
By Ron Jury, Staff Writer
Ronald Eugene Long, 19, of Millersburg, was found guilty of second-degree murder and burglary Wednesday by Dauphin County Judge Clarence C. Morrison in the January 1978 strangulation of 81-year-old Mildred I. Wilson at her Millersburg home.
Long’s arrest and conviction are the first in the nearly three-year-old murder case. A second-degree murder conviction, which is murder committed during a robbery, carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
District Attorney Richard A. Lewis said he has asked state and local police “to continue and intensify” their investigation as a result of Long’s conviction, to see whether there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against any other suspects.
Deputy District Attorney Todd Hoover, who handled the prosecution, said in his closing to the court, “by no means is this case over.”
The prosecution’s case hinged on a statement Long gave to Lewis and police on June 2. In that statement, which as read in court Wednesday by state police Cpl. Samuel Strawser. Long says, Mrs. Wilson was strangled by Joseph Keller, 21, of Millersburg, while another youth, Darrell Rickard, his cousin, of Millersburg, also participated in the burglary.
Assistant Public Defender Francis Socha, representing Long, attempted to suppress that statement at a separate hearing prior to the non-jury trial, but Morrison ruled that Long was not coerced into making a statement.
Socha said Long suffered from psychological coercion from early 1978 when he was first questioned about the incident. Long was “psychologically coerced into giving this confession,” Socha said, adding it was not voluntarily given and should not be put into evidence.
Long took the stand during the suppression hearing and said he was “tricked” into confessing the involvement in the killing. He said when police started talking about getting a statement from Keller, “I started getting a little worried.”
Long testified he was “pressured” into making a statement. He added that he expected to receive something from the district attorney’s office “for turning state’s evidence.”
In that statement, Long said Keller “was on cocaine,” on the night of January 18, 1978, as he strangled Mrs. Wilson with a black, plastic belt that had been around the woman’s waist. Mrs. Wilson tried to retreat, but Keller “freaked out. He went nuts,” Long said, adding that Keller’s eyes were glassy and his body shook as he choked the elderly woman.
Long said his statement that he thought that it “was just” going to be a robbery, and that he was to watch a side door at the Wilson house. But Long said that he left his post and went inside the house, “because it didn’t feel like a robbery.” Once inside, he said he saw Keller strangling Mrs. Wilson. He said Keller grabbed her wallet and put it in his pocket.
Long said Keller told him to grab the wallet, but he refused. “I made an attempt to do something about (Keller strangling Mrs. Wilson) and backed off.” Strawser read from the statement. After the incident was over, Long said he asked Keller why he did it, and “he said something and just took off.”
In the statement, Long said he and Rickard shoveled snow for Mrs. Wilson the day before the killing. He said he didn’t know the woman before then.
Long said he had a chance meeting with Keller on the night of January 18, 1978, and Keller asked him if he wanted to make some money, and “bump off an old lady.” Long said he didn’t give Keller definite answer, but rejoined him 15 minutes later and walked with him toward Mrs. Wilson’s house.
State trooper William R. Dessing, a fingerprint expert and prosecution witness, testified that Long’s fingerprint was found on the back of a photograph next to Mrs. Wilson’s body. Dessing said that the fingerprint was not matched with Long until October 27, 1978. No fingerprints were found on the belt around the woman’s neck, and other prints on a handbag could not be used for identification, he said.
State police Cp. Strawser, who was assigned to the case January 23, 1978 — two days after the body was found — testified that he first interviewed Long on march 22, 1978. He said he questioned Long numerous times during the next two years, the last time on June 2 when Long gave his statement and subsequently was arrested. He said Long had been a subject almost from the beginning of the investigation.
Socha called no defense witnesses, but made several attempts to have the case end without a conviction. Socha argued prior to the introduction of the statement that the prosecutor had not proved that a murder had been committed. He later argued that there was no evidence to show that Long directly was responsible for the slaying.
Hoover countered that the prosecution did not have to prove that Long actually strangled Mrs. Wilson.
“Since the days of Adam and Eve (Biblical characters) people have been trying to place the blame on other people. There’s evidence to show he (Long) was there,” Hoover said.
Socha also argued that the slaying was an independent act and not part of a robbery. Morrison said the testimony showed that Keller allegedly strangled the woman while taking her wallet.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, November 13, 1980:
MILLERSBURG MAN FOUND GUILTY IN SLAYING
HARRISBURG — An 18-year-old Millersburg man Wednesday was found guilty of second degree murder in the death of an elderly Millersburg woman whose beaten body was found in her home January 21, 1978.
Ronald Eugene Long was found guilty at about 4:30 p. m. in a non-jury trial before Dauphin County Court Judge Clarence Morrison.
In a hearing that ended Wednesday morning, Morrison refused to suppress as evidence statements Long made to state police in Harrisburg implicating himself in the murder of 78-yearold Mildred Wilson.
After the trial got under way at about 11 a. m. the state called nine witnesses, including state policemen, fingerprint experts and investigating officers. Prosecutors produced 18 exhibits.
According to assistant Dauphin County District Attorney Todd Hoover, who prosecuted the case, the state witnesses testified that Long’s fingerprint was found at the scene.
Long’s attorney, Fran Socha, did not produce any witnesses. In his final statement he asked that Long not be found guilty of first degree murder, since there was no specific intent to kill.
Morrison deliberated for a short time before finding Long guilty of second degree murder which carries a mandatory life sentence, and a related burglary charge.
Long was arrested and charged June 27, and placed in the Dauphin County Jail. His attorney could not be reached to determine whether there are any plans to appeal.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, February 28, 1981:
In the following cases, persons pleaded guilty to the listed charges and were sentenced by Lipsett:
Ronald Eugene Long, 19, of the 700 block of Union Street, Millersburg: multiple counts of forgery, 6 to 23 months in county prison, fined $20, pay $207 in restitution.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, August 4, 1981:
Ronald Eugene Long, 19, of the 700 block of Union Street, Millersburg, pleaded guilty to riot, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief involving a disturbance February 25 ad the county prison. Morrison sentenced him to 3 to 6 months in the county prison, imposed a $100 fine and ordered Long to pay $30 restitution to the county.
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, 30 Oct 1981:
JUDGE REBUFFS CONVICTED SLAYER’S MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS HIS STATEMENTS
Dauphin County Judge Clarence C. Morrison has denied post-trial motions filed on behalf of a Millersburg man found guilty of second-degree murder last November.
Morrison ordered the district attorney’s office to present Ronald Eugene Long in court for sentencing. A second-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
Long, 18, of Millersburg, was found guilty of criminal homicide and burglary last year in the January 1978 strangulation of 81-yearold Mildred I. Wilson at her Millersburg home.
Long’s arrest and conviction was the first in the nearly four-year-old murder case.
The prosecution’s case hinged on a statement Long gave to District Attorney Richard A. Lewis and police in June, 1980, in which he said Mrs. Wilson was strangled by Joseph Keller, 21, of Millersburg, while another youth, Darrell Richard, his cousin, of Millersburg, also participated in the burglary.
Long’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Francis Socha, attempted to suppress that statement, but Morrison ruled that Long was not coerced into making it. Long claimed he was “tricked” into making the statement.
Long said Keller strangled Mrs. Wilson with a black belt that had been around the woman’s waist. He said Keller was on cocaine.
In a nine-page opinion and order, Morrison states that an examination of the transcript of Long’s statement to police shows that he “was fully advised of his rights, that he stated he was speaking of his own free will and that he confirmed that no promises or threats had been made to induce him to speak.” The judge said that the prosecution sustained the burden of proof in showing that Long was not coerced.
Morrison adds that it was Long himself who “initiated the contact with law enforcement officials a few days before, which led to the formal taking of his statement. From the totality of the circumstances, we concluded that the confession was voluntary, knowing and intelligent and that suppression was therefore properly denied.”
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From the Harrisburg Patriot, November 21, 1981:
CONVICTED KILLER OF WOMAN, 80, GETS LIFE
A Millersburg man was sentenced to life imprisonment Friday for his conviction of second-degree murder in the January 18, 1978, strangulation death of an 80-year-old Millersburg woman.
Ronald Eugene Long, 19, of the 700 block of Union Street in Millersburg, received the life term from Common Pleas Judge Clarence C. Morrison, who found Long guilty of the murder charge in a non-jury trial last November.
Second-degree murder, indicating a murder committed during the commission of another felony, requires a life sentence.
Long’s sentence on a related burglary charge was merged with his life sentence.
Long was charged with participating in an incident on January 18, 1978, at the Mildred I. Wilson residence, 874 Union Street, Millersburg.
Long was accused of entering Wilson’s home with the intent to commit a theft. During this time, records indicate, Mrs. Wilson met her death when she was strangled by a belt.
In a statement Long gave to state police in June 1980, he said Mrs. Wilson was strangled by Joseph Keller, 20, an acquaintance of Long’s. He told police his cousin, Darrell Rickard, also participated in the burglary, court testimony revealed.
Long said in the statement that he was to be the lookout at a side door of the Wilson house during the burglary. However, Long said he left his post and went inside the house and saw Keller strangling Mrs. Wilson.
Another state policeman testified at the trial that Long’s fingerprints were found on the back of a photograph found next to Mrs. Wilson’s body.
In addition to being strangled, Mrs. Wilson had 17 ribs broken during an apparent struggle, testimony indicated.
Assistant Public Defender Francis Socha represented Long and was unsuccessful in having Long tried as a juvenile, which he was when the crime was committee, and in having Long’s statement suppressed.
Long was arrested on the charges connected with the Wilson incident in late June 1980. he was found guilty of the charges by Morrison in a non-jury trial last November. Morrison dismissed Long’s post-trial motions on October 28.
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from the Lebanon Daily News, November 21, 1981:
LONG GETS LIFE FOR MILLERSBURG MURDER
HARRISBURG — A Millersburg man was sentenced Friday in the Dauphin County Court to life in prison for second degree murder nearly one year after he was found guilty.
Judge Clarence C. Morrison sentenced Ronald Eugene Long, 19, 787 Union Street, to life in the state correctional institute in Camp Hill on charges of second degree murder and burglary. Long was also ordered to pay a $300 fine.
Long was found guilty in a non-jury trial on November 12, 1980, for the murder of Mildred I. Wilson, 874 Union Street, Millersburg. Long was convicted of breaking into the elderly woman’s home, stealing her money, beating and strangling her. An autopsy showed that the woman died of strangulation and also suffered several other suffered several other injuries.
According to court records, Long broke into the Wilson home on January 20, 1978. Long was arrested on August 20, 1980, after an intensive state police investigation…..
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See also:
Articles obtained through the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.