On April 1, 1985, two elderly women were found dead in their apartments in Perry County, Pennsylvania. At first, the police considered the possibility that this was a murder-suicide. Eventually, by May 22, 1985, the killings were ruled homicides (article above from Sunbury Daily Item). What was initially not revealed is that both women had met their deaths execution style, with close-range gunshots to the head.
At about the same time, it was announced that JoAnn M. Lawrence, then of Mount Joy, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, had been arrested for forging a check on the bank account of one of the dead women. Lawrence originally was from Williamstown, Dauphin County, and was a 1972 graduate of Williams Valley High School, where she played on the school’s championship basketball team. From information in newspaper articles, it was learned that after high school she attended West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia, served in the military as an Army nurse, and later became a lover to the daughter of one of the women who ended up getting murdered.
While she was not arrested and charged with the murders in 1985, she was considered a suspect. In 1985, she was convicted on the charge of forgery and sentenced to two years probation. During her probation, she moved back to Williamstown. Eventually, in 1988, after being arrested in Williamstown on a credit card fraud charge, and while she was waiting in the Dauphin County jail on the resolution of that matter, police arrested her and charged her with the murder of the two women in 1985.
The trial took place in May, 1988. She was found guilty on both counts. Despite the fact that the District Attorney called for the death penalty, the jury overruled and she was sentenced to two life terms in prison.
In a February 28, 2013 posting on Penn Live, the web site of the Harrisburg Patriot-News, the following was stated:
MUNCY – A former Williamstown woman convicted in 1988 of killing two cousins has died at the State Correction Institution at Muncy where she was serving a life sentence.
JoAnn M. Lawrence, 58, was pronounced dead at 8:10 a.m. Thursday from natural causes, Lycoming County Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. said.
A Perry County jury convicted Lawrence on two counts of first-degree murder in the April 1, 1985, shooting deaths of Olie B. Read, 65, and Jessie E. Lyon, 69, in their Millerstown apartments.
Each was shot with hollow-tip bullets fired from a .38-caliber revolver. Read’s death was described as execution style.
Some of the news stories that reported the murder and the arrest and conviction of JoAnne Lawrence on the forgery charge are presented here today.
Tomorrow, in part 2, news stories on the arrest, trial and conviction of Lawrence will be presented.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, Pennsylvania, April 3 1985:
WOMEN FOUND DEAD IN MILLERSTOWN
MILLERSTOWN — Two elderly Millerstown women were found shot to death last night in Savercool Apartments, but police are disclosing little information about the circumstances of the shootings.
Jessie F. Lyons, 69, and Olie B. Reed, in her late 60s, were pronounced dead at about 8:30 by Michael J. Shalonis, Perry County coroner. The women had head wounds and Shakonis said it appeared the shootings occurred Monday night.
The women lived in separate apartments in the apartment building, state police at Newport said. Police would not say in which apartment the women were found.
“We’re not saying that it’s’ suspicious,” Shalonis said. “We’re not saying it’s not suspicious.”
Perry County District Attorney H. Scott Cramer said, “We are not labeling it any way.”
Shalonis said autopsies were to be performed at Carlisle Hospital today.
According to police, the bodies were discovered at 7:15 p.m. by the landlord and a relative of one of the two women. The relative had become concerned when telephone calls went unanswered, Shalonis said.
Shalonis said a gun, which he believed was a .38-caliber pistol, was found on the floor. He refused to say where the women were found in the apartment or whether the shots were fired from close range.
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From the Lebanon Daily News, April 4, 1985
WOMEN FOUND SHOT
MILLERSTOWN — Two elderly women were found shot to death in their Perry County apartment, police said Wednesday.
The bodies of Jessie E. Lyon, 69 and Olie B. Reed, in her late 60s, were found in their apartment at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday by relatives and their landlord, police said Wednesday.
Jessie E. Lyon, 69, and Olie B. Reed, in her late 60s, were found in their apartment at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday by relatives and their landlord, police said.
Police said the women died of gunshot wounds to the head sometime Monday evening.
Michael J. Shalonia, Perry County coroner, said no ruling on the circumstances of their deaths had been made.
The UPI release was slightly different. From the Scranton Tribune, April 4, 1985:
2 WOMEN FOUND DEAD
MILLERSTOWN, Pennsylvania (UPI) — Two elderly women were found shot to death in their Perry County apartment, police said Wednesday.
The bodies of Jessie Lyons, 69, and Olie Reed, who was also in her late 60s, were discovered Tuesday night in their apartment in the Savercool complex, police said.
Police said both women had died of a single gunshot wound to the head late Monday.
Police said the deaths had not been classified as homicides and an investigation continued into the circumstances surrounding the women’s deaths.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, April 4, 1985:
POLICE REMAIN MUM ON MILLERSTOWN SHOOTINGS
MILLERSTOWN — An autopsy was performed yesterday on two women found shot to death in a Millerstown apartment Tuesday night but no conclusion was reached on the circumstances of the shootings.
Michael Shalonis, Perry County coroner, said the women, Jessie E. Lyon, 69, and Olie B. Reed, 65, both of Millerstown, each died Monday night as a result of single gunshot wounds to the head. He said the wounds were inflicted with a .38-caliber pistol.
The Reed woman was a former mayor of Millerstown.
He said authorities are awaiting results of several tests before a report on the incident is released. He said a report could be released Monday.
State police at Newport said the bodies were discovered at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday in Savercool Apartments by the landlord and a relative of one of the victims. The relative had become concerned when telephone calls went unanswered, Shalonis said.
The women lived in separate apartments in the apartment building.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, April 6, 1865:
WOMAN’S DEATH RULED HOMICIDE
MILLERSTOWN — The death of one of two women found in their apartments here on Tuesday has been termed a homicide, according to state police at Newport.
Trooper Donald Harriman said preliminary test reports show Olie B. Reed, 65, a former mayor of Millerstown, was shot to death in her apartment.
A neighbor, Jessie E. Lyon, 69, also was found dead in an adjacent apartment. Police said they have nor ruled out murder-suicide but are treating the investigation as a double homicide.
The cause of Miss Reed’s death was determined after an autopsy according to police and Perry County Coroner Michael Shalonis, Marysville. he said test results on the body of Mrs. Lyon should be available next week from the state police laboratory.
Shalonis said each victim was found in her own apartment, but he declined to say if there was a sign of struggle or forced entry. Both women died sometime Monday and their bodies were found Tuesday when relatives and neighbors became concerned when they were not seen on Tuesday.
Police said both women died from single shots from a .38 caliber, but declined to give more specifics.
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From the Lancaster New Era, May 17, 1985:
FORGERY LINKED TO 2 MURDERS
By Janet Kelley
New Era Staff Writer
A double-murder investigation in Perry County has led state police to charge a 30-year-old Mount Joy woman with forging a check belonging to one of the murder victims.
JoAnn M. Lawrence, 30, of 604 Harvest View North, Mount Joy, was charged on Monday by state police in Newport, Perry County, with one count of forgery.
State police said Miss Lawrence cashed a $4,000 check belonging to one of the murder, victims at a Mount Joy bank on the day the woman was killed.
Miss Lawrence was arraigned before District Justice William Reuter and released on $2,500 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.
According to Perry County Coroner Dr. Michael Shalonis, the two victims were found slain on April 2 in their apartments in Millerstown, Perry County.
The victims, he said Olie Reed and Jessie Lyon, were cousins and both in their 60s. They lived in separate apartments in the same apartment building in Millerstown, a small borough located along the Juniata River.
The coroner said Miss Reed’s uncle, who lives in the Millerstown area, had not seen the women all day on April 2 and went to their apartments to investigate.
The man found the women dead in their respective apartments around 7:30 p.m. and called authorities.
“We know there was a struggle,” Shalonis said, but the apartments were not ransacked and did not appear to have been burglarized.
The two women were found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head and, after autopsies and other tests, Shalonis said, both deaths were ruled homicides.
The Time of the deaths was placed at 9 p.m. on April 1, according to Shalonis.
State police said Miss Lawrence cashed the check, belonging to Miss Lawrence this week. Their investigation is continuing.
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From the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, May 18, 1985:
FORGERY IS TIED TO TWO MURDERS
State police have charged a 30-year old Mount Joy woman with forging a check belonging to one of two murder victims in a Perry County double homicide, police said Friday.
JoAnn M. Lawrence, 30, of 604 Harvest View North, Mount Joy, was charged on Monday by state police in Newport, Perry County, with one count of forgery.
State police said Miss Lawrence cashed a $4,000 check belonging to one of the murder victims at a Mount Joy bank on the day the woman was killed.
Miss Lawrence was arraigned before District Judge William Reuter and released on $2,500 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.
According to Perry County Coroner Dr. Michael Shalonis, the two victims, Olie Reed and Jessie Lyon, cousins, and both in their 60s, were found slain on April 2 in their apartments. They lived in separate apartments in the same apartment building in Millerstown, a small brough located along the Juniata river.
The two women were found dead from single gunshot wounds to the hear and , after autopsies and other tests, Dr. Shalonis said, both deaths were ruled homicides.
State policed said Miss Lawrence cashed the check, belonging to Miss Reed, at a Mount Joy bank on April 1, the same day police determined they were slain.
Police said in investigating the double homicide they learned of the forgery and charged Miss Lawrence this week. Their investigation is continuing.
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From the Lancaster New Era, May 18, 1965:
WOMAN CHARGED IN FORGEY IS ‘SERIOUS”
A 30-year-old Mount Joy woman, charged with forging a check belonging to a Perry County murder victim, is listed in serious condition today at St. Joseph Hospital.
State and borough police are investigation the incident as a “possibly attempted suicide.”
JoAnn M. Lawrence, of 604 Harvest View North, was charged by state police on Monday with forging a $4,000 check belonging to Olie Reed, of Millerstown, who was found shot to death the same day the check was cashed.
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From the Sunbury Daily Item, May 22, 1985 (see also image at top of post):
MILLERSTOWN WOMEN’S DEATHS RULED HOMICIDES
MILLERSTOWN — The death of a second elderly woman found shot April 2 has been ruled a homicide by Perry County Coroner Michael J. Shalonis.
Shalonis said yesterday that Jessie Elizabeth Lyon, 69, and a her cousin, Olie Betty Reed, 65, both died of .38-caliber gunshot wounds to their heads.
Salonis ruled yesterday that Mrs. Lyon had ben murdered. He ruled that Miss Reed was murdered following an autopsy April 4.
The women were shot to death in their adjoining apartments on Apple Street.
Police have accused JoAnn M. Lawrence, Mount Joy, of forging a $4,000 check belonging to Miss Reed. The woman, who is free on $2,500 bail, is reported in satisfactory condition in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Lancaster, where she is being treated for a drug overdose.
State police at Newport said the check was cashed April 1, the same day the women were shot. Police did not say whether Ms. Lawrence was considered a suspect in the shootings.
Shalonis said a meeting is scheduled tomorrow in Allentown with a forensic pathologist and state police to try to determine the times of the deaths.
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From the Lancaster New Era, June 4, 1985:
MOUNT JOY WOMAN HELD ON FORGERY
By Janet Kelley
New Era Staff Writer
A 30-year-old Mount Joy woman was ordered to stand trial Monday on charges that she forged a $4,000 check belonging to a Perry County murder victim.
JoAnn M. Lawrence, of 604 Harvest View North, was allowed to remain free on bail pending trial in Lancaster County Criminal Court after the preliminary hearing before District Justice William Reuter.
Trooper Donald Harriman, of the Newport state police barracks in Perry County, said that the charges against Miss Lawrence stemmed from his investigation of the murder to two women that occurred in that county last April 1.
Harriman explained that the two victims, Olie Reed and Jessie Lyon, were cousins and both in their 60s. They lived in the same building, but in separate apartments in Millerstown, a small borough located along the Juniata River.
“Initially,” Harriman said, police believed that the women’s deaths were “a homicide/suicide-type case.”
Both women, he added, were shot an killed by a single bullet wound to the head around 9 p.m. on April 1.
According to police accounts at the time, the bodies were discovered the following evening by an uncle of one of the women.
Their apartments had been ransacked, officials said, but did not appear to have been burglarized. The Perry County coroner, Dr. Michael Shalonis, also said there appeared to have been a struggle before the two women were shot.
After an investigating the incident, autopsy reports and talking to friends and relatives, Harriman said, it was determined that the deaths were a double homicide.
On April 4 [1985], Harriman said, he was contacted by an official of Miss Reed’s bank, who said that they had received a check for $4,000 against Miss Reed’s account which as payable to Miss Lawrence.
The check, Harriman said, had been returned because of insufficient funds.
Harriman said that he went to Mount Joy to interview Miss Lawrence and her two roommates, one of whom was Mis Lyon’s daughter.
Miss Lawrence, Harriman said, told him that she had received money from Miss Reed several times, the last time being the $4,000 check on March 29.
“She said she received a blank check,” from Miss Reed, which she had requested to pay bills, Harriman said. Miss Lawrence, the trooper said, deposited $3,700 in her Mount Joy bank and kept $300.
The trooper added that Miss Lawrence told him that she and Miss Reed were friends and that she often received small sums of cash on birthdays and special occasions. On a prior occasion, Harriman said, the women in Mount Joy received a loan of $1,000 from Miss Reed.
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From the Lancaster New Era, November 26, 1985:
COUNTIAN SENTENCED FOR FORGERY
A 31-year old Mount Joy woman was given two years probation recently in Lancaster County Court for forgery.
JoAnn M. Lawrence of 604 Harvestview North, also was fined $500 and ordered to pay costs and $300 restitution.
Miss Lawrence was charged by state police in June with forging a check from the account of a Perry County murder victim, Olie Reed. Police said in a preliminary hearing that Miss Lawrence kept $300 of a $4,000 check and deposited the remainder.
The check, state police said, had been deposited about the same time Miss Reed and her cousin, Jessie Lyon, were found shot to death in their apartment. Although police ruled the deaths homicide, Although police ruled the deaths homicide, no arrests have been made.
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News article and photo from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.