A newspaper photograph of the rural Pennsylvania farmhouse where a drunken Paul C. Klinger, formerly of Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, met his death in a shotgun blast delivered by 18-year-old Brian Gardner. Klinger was the live-in boyfriend of Sharon Runkle who rented the house. Gardner was her son. A confrontation occurred in November 1995 between Runkle and Klinger after she threw Klinger out of the house. Klinger returned to the house and started breaking household items, and after calling Gardner names and approaching him, Gardner went after him with a shotgun.
After a coroner’s inquest, charges were brought against Gardner. The case never went to a jury trial because a plea deal was made between the District Attorney and Gardner’s attorney where by pleading guilty to a charge of third-degree murder, Gardner would get a 5 to 15 year sentence to be served in the county prison rather than in a state prison. At the conclusion, the District Attorney admitted that there was not a strong case for the prosecution, and for the State, this was the best possible outcome.
The killing and judicial outcome were covered in the Carlisle Sentinel.
From the Carlisle Sentinel, November 10, 1995:
SHOOTING IN PERRY
State police in Newport are investigating a shooting death in rural Shermans Dale.
State police responded with “no comment” to all questions posed this morning concerning the death of Paul C. Klinger, 38, except to say the investigation is continuing.
The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. Thursday at a home along Dellville Road. No one is in custody in the shooting. An autopsy is being formed today at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown….
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, November 11, 1995:
TEEN ALLEGEDLY KILLED MOM’S BOYFRIEND
By Steven Henshaw and David Wenner, Sentinel Reporters.
A group of high school students gathered outside a Perry County farmhouse Friday afternoon, stunned by news their classmate allegedly shot to death his mother’s live-in boyfriend.
Brian E. Gardner, 18, allegedly told authorities he shot Paul C. Klinger, 38, about 5:30 p. m. Thursday at the house on Dellville Dam Road, about two miles outside the village of Dellville, said Perry County Coroner Michael J. Shalonis.
Gardner is a student at West Perry High School.
Klinger died immediately after a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun, Shalonis said.
Shalonis said the shooting occurred during an “altercation” involving Gardner, Klinger, and Sharon Runkle, Garner’s mother All three lived at the house and were the only ones present at the shooting, he said.
Neighbors say Mr. Runkle rents the house and also has a daughter who’s 11 or 12.
Shalonis said Gardner and Ms. Runkle suffered no injuries.
He said he will meet with Perry County District Attorney R. Scott Cramer this weekend to discuss whether the shooting should be ruled justifiable homicide. If questions remain about whether the shooting was justified, Shalonis will hold a coroner’s inquest, he said. He expects to make a decision by mid-week.
Shalonis could provide few details on Klinger, whom he said once worked as a forklift operator.
YOUTH ‘COOPERATIVE’
Asked if Gardner offered an explanation for the shooting, Shalonis said, “At this point, that is still part of the investigation. He as made a statement. He has been cooperative.”
Gardner was not arrested.
State police at Newport released few details Friday night, saying they are investigating the shooting, along with Cramer’s office.
By Friday afternoon, a small group of Gardner’s classmates had stopped along the road in front of the two-story farmhouse, which stands among about eight newer homes at the crest of a hill. A child’s bicycle and a swing, were on the porch.
The teenagers had heard radio reports of the shooting.
Teens: ‘Wally’ Easy-Going
They described Gardner – nicknamed “Wally” – as a quiet, easy-going person not inclined to violence. They said he just turned 18 and was ahigh school senior.
“Something had to have made him really mad because Wally doesn’t get mad easily,” said Jerry Kitner, 17.
“He’s like, so nice. He got along with just about everyone,” said a 16-year-old girl, obviously shaken by the news. She asked to remain anonymous.
Her companion, Frank Goode, 16, said he would often “hang out” at Gardner’s house but had met Klinger only a few times and no strong impression of him.
Goode said Gardner never spoke of problems at home.
George Rohrbach and Betty Rohrbach, who live two doors away, said they were not well-acquainted with the family.
“We knew them but we didn’t know their names or anything,” Mrs. Rohrbach said. “I know (Mrs. Runkle) worked a lot, though.
Jeff Dunn, another neighbor, said he didn’t know anything was wrong until he saw an ambulance and police cars arrive at the house.
“It’s always a shock when something like that happens as close to home as this.,” he said.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, November 18, 1995:
CORONER’S INQUEST SCHEDULED
A coroner’s inquest will be held December 14 [1995] to answer any remaining questions concerning a Perry County teenager’s alleged shooting of his mother’s live-in boyfriend.
Perry County Coroner Michael Shalonis announced Friday a six-person inquest at Perry County Courthouse in New Bloomfield will examine the November 9 shooting death of Paul C. Klinger, 38, by Brian Gardner, 18, of Dellville Dam Road.
Gardner, a student at West Perry High School, allegedly told authorities he shot Klinger about 5:30 p.m. at home during an altercation involving Klinger, Gardner and Sharon Runkle, Gardner’s mother, Shalonis says.
Klinger died immediately after a single shotgun blast to the chest, Shalonis says.
No arrests have been made. Shalonis said previously he would call for the inquest if any questions remained regarding the shooting.
State police are continuing an investigation into the events surrounding the shooting, Shalonis said.
Coroner’s inquests are used to investigate cases involving suspicious or violent deaths, he says. The findings are non-binding and are primarily advisory only, he says.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, December 15, 1995:
INQUEST DELAYED
Bad weather forced the postponement Thursday of a Perry County coroner’s inquest to determine whether the November 9 shooting death of Paul C. Klinger was justifiable homicide.
The inquest was rescheduled to January 5 at 9 a. m.
Coroner Michael J. Shalonis says Klinger died of a single shotgun blast from a 12-gauge shotgun fired by Brian Gardner, 18, at a house along Delville Dam Road.
Klinger was the live-in boyfriend of Gardner’s mother.
Shalonis said the shooting occurred during an “altercation” involving Gardner, Klinger, and Sharon Runkle, Gardner’s mother.
Gardner allegedly admitted to authorities that he shot Klinger. He was not charged pending the outcome of the coroner’s inquest.
Twenty prospective jurors, out of which six will be chosen, have been subpoenaed for the inquest.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, January 4, 1996:
SHOOTING INQUEST SET FOR FRIDAY MORNING
By Steven Henshaw, Sentinel Reporter
A coroner’s jury will recommend Friday whether criminal charges should be filed against an 18-year-old who shot and killed his mother’s live-in boyfriend November 9 [1995].
The coroner’s inquest, called by Perry County Coroner Michael J. Shalonis, will begin Friday at 9 a. m. with the selection of six jurors and one alternate from a pool of 20 prospective jurors.
District Attorney Scott Cramer will call on witnesses to recount the events leading up to the 5:30 p. m. shooting November 9.
Authorities said Brian E. Gardner shot 38-year-old Paul C. Klinger once with a 12-gauge shotgun inside their home on Dellville Dam Road, about two miles outside the village of Dellville.
Gardner was not arrested and cooperated with authorities who investigated the shooting.
The inquest, which is the first one ever called by Shalonis, was scheduled for December 14, but was postponed because of inclement weather.
Police have released few details of the shooting. Shalonis said it occurred during an “altercation” involving Gardner, Klinger, and Sharon Runkle, Gardner’s mother.
All three lived at the house and were the only ones present at the shooting, he said.
Klinger, who worked as a forklift operator, died immediately after being shot once in the chest at close range.
Shalonis said Gardner and Ms. Rankle suffered no injuries.
Shalonis ordered the inquest to help the district attorney decide whether the shooting should be ruled a “justifiable homicide.”
Gardner, known as “Wally” to his classmates at West Perry High School, has been described by his friends as a quiet, easy-going person not inclined to violence.
They said he never spoke of problems at home. He had just turned 18 before the shooting and is a high school senior.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, January 30, 1996:
PERRY TEEN ARRAIGNED IN HOMICIDE
Perry County District Attorney Scott Cramer Tuesday charged a West Perry High School student with criminal homicide in the November 9 [1995] shotgun slaying of his mother’s live-in boyfriend.
Brian Gardner, 18, of Dellville Dam Road, Carroll Township, arrived with his attorney at District Justice Elizabeth Frownfelter‘s office in Loysville at 1 p. m. and surrendered to a state trooper.
He waived his right to a preliminary hearing during his arraignment before Mrs. Frownfelter.
Gardner’s attorney, P. Richard Wagner of Harrisburg, said he waived the hearing so the case would more under the jurisdiction of Perry County Court.
A district judge cannot set bail in a criminal homicide case.
Wagner then petitioned the court to set bail for his client and Judge Keith Quigley ordered bail at $50,000, which Gardner’s relatives posted in real estate.
Action Delayed
Cramer delayed a decision to file any charges against Gardner until a Perry County coroner’s jury made a recommendation.
A coroner’s jury January 5 unanimously agreed Gardner should be held criminally responsible for the homicide.
Gardner admitted shooting Paul C. Klinger once in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun during an argument about 5:30 p. m. November 9 [1995] in a house on Dellville Dam Road.
Klinger had lived with Gardner’s mother, Sharon Runkle, for about a year and a half when the shooting occurred.
Gardner told police he shot Klinger, who was heavily intoxicated, during an argument that ensued after Mrs. Runkle tried to throw him out of the house.
Klinger collapsed on a landing at the bottom of the staircase, according to testimony at the coroner’s inquest.
Gardner told investigators he fired his shotgun from the top of the steps after Klinger started after him.
Moments earlier, Gardner and Klinger nearly came to blows outside Gardner’s second floor bedroom. Ms. Runkle stepped in-between them and told Klinger to go downstairs, according to testimony of police and Mrs. Runkle at the inquest.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, January 5, 1996:
PERRY COUNTY CORONER’S JURY HEAR DETAILS OF ’95 SHOOTING
By Steven Henshaw, Sentinel Reporter
When a state trooper responded to a report of a shooting at a Perry County home November 9 [1995], he found 18-year-old Brian Gardner sitting on a sofa watching television.
A shotgun sat nearby. At the bottom of a staircase lay the body of Paul C. Klinger, 38.
Police say Gardner shot Klinger, his mother’s live-in boyfriend, during an argument.
A Perry County coroner’s jury heard details of the shooting this morning. The inquest will decide if Gardner, a West Perry High School student, should face criminal charges.
State Trooper Richard Foltz this morning described the scene just before 6 p. m., when he arrived at the house on Dellville Dam Road, about two miles from the village of Dellville.
From outside the door, he saw Gardner’s mother, Sharon Runkle, talking on the telephone.
She motioned him inside. He saw the shotgun on a sofa and two undischarged shells – as if the gun had been unloaded – lying on the floor.
Ms. Runkle indicated Gardner was in an adjacent room. Fultz found Gardner watching television. He handcuffed the young man and told him to sit.
At that point in this morning’s proceedings Perry County District Attorney Scott Kramer asked the trooper to describe Gardner’s demeanor.
He appeared “extremely indifferent to the situation,” Fultz said. “I didn’t notice any remorse. he wasn’t visibly upset by what happened.”
Next, he examined Klinger, who had no pulse.
Fultz was the first witness and had just begun his testimony at press time.
Police have released few details of the shooting. They say it occurred during an “altercation” between Gardner, Klinger and Ms. Runkle. All three lived at the house and were the only ones present.
The jury of three men and three women expected to listen to several witnesses called by Cramer.
County Coroner Michael Shalonis ordered the inquest to help Cramer decide if the shooting should be ruled a justifiable homicide.
Klinger was a forklift operator.
Classmates have described Gardner — known as “Wally” — as quiet and easy-going.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, January 6, 1996:
TEEN TO BE CHARGED IN PERRY HOMICIDE
By Steven Henshaw, Sentinel Reporter
A Perry County coroner’s jury unanimously agreed Friday that 18-year-old Brian Gardner is criminally responsible for the shooting death of Paul C. Klinger, during a November domestic dispute.
After the verdict, District Attorney Scott Cramer said he would file criminal homicide charges next week against Gardner, a senior at West Perry High School.
Gardner admitted in a statement to state police investigators that he shot and killed Klinger, his mother’s live-in boyfriend, during an argument in their home on Dellville Dam Road in rural Carroll Township.
Klinger, 38, died almost instantly from the shotgun wound in the chest, according to Friday’s testimony.
Gardner did not appear during any part of the coroner’s inquest, which was called and presided over by Perry County Coroner Michael J. Shalonis to help Cramer determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
Gardner’s mother, Sharon Runkle, gave jurors her version of events, which closely matched statements she and her son made to Trooper Richard Geeley, a criminal investigator assigned to the Newport barracks.
Victim Drank Heavily
The 41-year-old heavy-set woman described Klinger as an alcoholic who would verbally abuse her, her son and her 12-year-old daughter when he was drinking.
Klinger had been living with her for about a year and a half and shared in household expenses when he was working, Ms. Runkle said. He did mostly dock loading type work and had been working nearly full-time for a supermarket near New Bloomfield on a 10 p. m. to 6 a. m.
Klinger often started drinking 16-ounce cans of beer as soon as he got out of bed, she said. On his days off he wouldn’t quit drinking until he was ready to go to bed.
“Paul was a decent person when he was sober,” Ms. Runkle said. “It was when he was drinking, that he directed abusive language at her children.
They had become more of a problem over the last year as Klinger’s drinking became heavier, she said.
Ms. Runkle said Klinger never physically abused the children. He sometimes raised a clenched fist during arguments with her but only slapped her in the face once, she said.
Late Getting Home
The domestic argument that resulted in Klinger’s death started when Ms. Runkle called home several time from work only to find Klinger had not yet returned home. He was supposed to pick up Garner so the teen could make an appointment with an eye doctor, she said.
Ms. Runkle called a tavern and talked to Klinger, telling him had better go home in time for her son’s appointment or “he would find his clothes out on the porch.”
When she arrived home about 5 p. m. Klinger was still not there. She told Gardner she was “tired of Paul’s b——” and was throwing him out of the house. The two of them, then put Klinger’s clothes into a bag.
Ms. Runkle said she went to the tavern and told Klinger she had put his clothes in the bed of his truck. She told him not to return to her house.
Klinger followed her home and the two of them argued.
Smashed Things.
Unlike other arguments, Ms. Runkle said, Klinger appeared to be violent, shoving a table at her and smashing several household items.
Ms. Runkle went upstairs but Klinger followed her. While upstairs, Ms. Runkle said, Klinger called her son profanities and “your big boy.”
Ms. Runkle yelled at Klinger to “keep Brian out of this.” The Gardner emerged from his bedroom and swore at Klinger.
Klinger went toward Gardner’s bedroom but Ms. Runkle stopped him and told him to go downstairs. She said he continued to smash things and call her names when her son emerged from his room with his shotgun.
“I think it’s time for you to leave now,” she said Gardner told Klinger.
She said her son told Klinger, “I don’t want to shoot you” and Klinger replied, “Go ahead, pull the trigger, big boy” and started to advance up the stairs.
Ms. Runkle, who was standing beside her son, said she didn’t know the gun was loaded until she heard the blast. “I just saw blood fly. I didn’t see Paul fall but I knew he was dead when I saw the blood fly and the way he was lying there.”
She called 999 and prompted by the operator, checked for a pulse on Klinger’s body. She couldn’t find any. She told her son to wait downstairs for the police to arrive.
Trooper Geeley said when he arrived, Klinger’s body appeared to be in the same position it was immediately after he was shot.
The coroner’s jury also heard testimony from forensic pathologist Dr. Saralee Funke, who performed the autopsy on Klinger’s body the day after the shooting. She said Klinger’s blood-alcohol content at the time of the shooting was .29. The point at which a motorist is considered legally drunk in Pennsylvania is .10.
The jury delivered the verdict in less than a half hour. Ms. Runkle walked hastily out of the courtroom and had no comment.
Klinger’s Backers Cry
Some of Klinger’s supporters cried and hugged each other.
One of them, Frankie Klinger, of Halifax, said his younger brother “was not a violent person.”
But he said those attending the inquest wouldn’t have known that.
“Nobody talked to anybody that knows Paul,” he said. “I’m his own brother and nobody asked me anything.”
Joe Truitt, of Halifax, a teen-ager who said Klinger weas a lifelong friend, said he is glad Gardner will finally be charged.
He should have been in jail by now,” Truitt said. “Anybody who knows Paul knows he would just as soon walked away than get into a fight with anybody.”
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, June 18, 1996:
TEEN TO GET 5 – 15 YEARS IN SHOOTING
By Chad Halcom, Sentinel Reporter
A West Perry High School student who shot and killed his mother’s boyfriend will likely spent at least five years in prison after pleading to a reduced charge of third-degree murder Monday.
Brian Gardner, 18, of Shermans Dale was not officially sentenced Monday, but the terms of his plea agreement include a sentence of five to 15 years at perry County prison — not a state facility as in most sentences of that length.
Gardner admitted to police that he shot Paul C. Klinger, 38, during a November 9 [1995] allocation that involved the two men and Gardner’s mother Sharon Runkle.
Gardner, a 10th grader, was 18 at the time of the shooting. He withdrew from school after the incident.
He sounded remorseful when he told Perry County Common Pleas Court Judge Keith Quigley his reasons for the plea on the day jury selection was to begin for his trial.
“I know, more or less, I killed someone,” he told the court. “I hate to see it on the news when somebody kills a person.”
“Do you feel sorry?” Quigley asked.
“Yes. You can say you’re sorry a thousand times,” Gardner responded. “It doesn’t change anything or bring them back.”
Still, Quigley did not immediately adopt the sentence recommended by Gardner’s defense attorney, P. Richard Wagner, and Perry County District Attorney P. Scott Cramer.
Instead, he will review a pre-sentencing investigation by local probation/parole officials before passing the official sentence.
“Unless I find either of you (Wagner and Cramer) didn’t do your jobs, which I don’t expect, I’ll accept the (recommended) sentence,” Quigley said.
Wagner says Gardner has shown remorse, despite the early reports by Pennsylvania State Police that he did not, and would prefer both the inmate population and location of Perry County Prison to a state facility.
“It was his belief that being in Perry County Prison would leave him closer to his family,” he said.
Klinger’s brother, Frankie Klinger of Halifax, and sister both expressed disgust at the agreement and called Gardner’s sentence a “slap on the wrist.”
“What about him? (Paul). What about his daughter? Who cares about them in all this? Frankie Klinger said.
Cramer’s office filed a first-degree murder charge against Gardner two months after the fact, once a jury from a coroner’s inquest determined that he was criminally responsible for the slaying.
Gardner had originally told state police he was “afraid” for his mother an himself, and shot Klinger in self-defense. However, the investigating officer testified that Gardner was “indifferent” to his actions and showed no remorse.
“Having spent a great deal more time with him than these so-called “authorities,” I can tell you he’s shown great remorse,” Wagner says.
Cramer and Wagner both indicated that Gardner had a strong defense on two points — diminished mental capacity, since he was diagnosed by experts as having acute stress disorder, and self-defense because Klinger was drunk and aggressive.
“Under the circumstances, probably the best conviction we could have had was third-degree murder,” Cramer says.
He says another blow to the prosecution’s own case could have been Klinger’s own past, which includes some misdemeanor offenses.
It is debatable whether that information would have been admissible in a trial, but Cramer says it could not have helped.
“What he (Gardner) knew about the victim’s history could have played upon his stress factor at that time,” Cramer explained, adding that he only charged first-degree murder at first because he did not know of Gardner’s condition.
Also, Klinger’s blood alcohol level was measured at .29 when he died, while Gardner was sober at the time.
He remains free on bond despite his plea until the pre-sentencing investigation concludes and Quigley passes sentence.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, June 23, 1996:
TEEN GETS 5 – 15 YEARS FOR SHOOTING DEATH
A West Perry High School student who shot and killed his mother’s boyfriend will likely spend at least five years in prison after pleading to a reduced charge of third-degree murder.
Brian Gardner, 18, of Shermans Dale has not been sentenced formally, but the terms of his released plea agreement include a sentence of 5 to 15 years at Perry County Prison.
Gardner admitted to police that he shot Paul C. Klinger, 38, during a November 9 altercation that involved the two men and Gardner’s mother, Sharon Runkle.
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, July 12, 1996:
TEEN JAILED FOR KILLING MOM’S BOYFRIEND
By Chad Halcom, Sentinel Reporter
Eighteen year-old Brian Gardner of Shermans Dale hung his head Thursday morning as a Perry County sheriff’s deputy quietly led him away to prison for at least five years.
“You don’t put a brief end to a situation like this with the few words in an order on some paper,” said Judge Keith Quigley as Gardner prepared to leave. “But we’ve already said everything by now.”
Gardner was sentences to 15 years of county probation contingent upon the minimum of five years serve in Perry County Prison, for the November 9 [1995] shotgun slaying of his mother’s live-in boyfriend, Paul C. Klinger.
Gardner killed an intoxicated Klinger after the 38-year-old man allegedly assaulted Sharon Runkle, Gardner’s mother, and threatened both mother and son.
Gardner pleaded guilty to third-degree murder June 17 in a plea bargain with Perry County District Attorney R. Scott Cramer.
Several of Gardner’s relatives attended Thursday’s sentencing hearing, including his grandfather, August Gardner, who said Brian is a “good kid” who never got into serious trouble until now. “I think he (Brian) got what he wanted out of it (the court system), “the elder Gardner said of the teen’s plea bargain. “But he shouldn’t really (go to jail).”
The youth’s defense attorney, P. Richard Wagner, said “it’s not nice to say these things about people who aren’t here to defend themselves. But he (Klinger) was just cruel and abusive” to Gardner and his mother.
Wagner said Gardner felt his actions the night of the shooting were necessary. In the plea bargain, Wagner gained for his client a recommended jail sentence of 5 – 15 years in the county prison rather than in a state facility.
A pre-sentencing investigation by the county probation and parole office dis not dispute the case facts or the prison sentence recommended by Cramer and Wagner, bot me said this week.
Gardner had been free on bond until Quigley could review the pre-sentence investigation and pass final sentence. Cramer said he had agreed to the arrangement because Gardner was not a flight risk.
“He’s a long-term resident of the county. All his family’s here. And he’s been showing up, which is a big part of it,” Cramer said. “We didn’t really see him skipping town.”
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From the Carlisle Sentinel, July 14, 1996:
KILLER OF MOM’S BOYFRIEND JAILED
Brian Gardner was sentenced to five years in Perry County Prison, followed by 15 years of county probation, for the November 9 shotgun slaying of his mother’s live-in boyfriend, Paul C. Klinger.
Gardner killed an intoxicated Klinger after the 38-year old man allegedly assaulted Sharon Runkle, Gardner’s mother, and threatened both mother and son. He pleaded guilty to third-degree murder June 17 in a plea bargain with the Perry County District Attorney.
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News articles from Newspapers.com. Photograph of farm house by Steven Henshaw, from Carlisle Sentinel, November 11, 1995.
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