Elsie Mae Schoffstall, a 62-year-old-widow living with her bed-ridden mother in Lykens, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, was found dead on her living room floor on the morning of 1 November 1979. The police investigation and autopsy concluded that she had a head wound and multiple scull fractures – and had been strangled and sexually assaulted. There was no evidence of robbery.
This was the fourth such murder in the Lykens Valley area in a three-year period, the first occurring in early April 1977 in Tremont, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. In the four investigations, a similar pattern emerged: (1) All four victims were elderly widows. (2) All four victims were beaten about the head and strangled. (3) All four victims were found naked or partially naked and sexually assaulted. (4) Robbery or burglary was not found to be a motive. (5) In two of the four crimes, an alleged perpetrator was arrested and brought to trial – but acquitted. (6) None of the crimes were solved.
This post is one of 9 chronicling the discovery of the Mrs. Schoffstall’s body and the police investigation. The story is told through articles that appeared in a Pottsville newspaper.
From the Pottsville Republican, 3 November 1979:
Police fail to rule our murder links
By DALLAS DELUZIO, Staff Writer
The death of a 62-year-old Lykens woman Thursday is the fourth murder of elderly widows to have occurred in the Upper Dauphin – Western Schuylkill counties area during the past three years.
Police are not sure if the deaths are connected, but all the victims were widows and they all lived alone, “or might as well have lived alone,” according to State Police Lt. Herman Faiola, who is heading the investigation into three of the slayings.
However, police are not ruling out the possibility of a link to all four deaths.
Two of the women were believed to have been sexually assaulted.
The first victim was Jenne E. Barr, a 78-year-old widow who lived at 20 N. Crescent St., Tremont. Her body was found at 10 p.m., 29 March 1977, in a first-floor den with a wound on her forehead and blood on the floor.
An autopsy showed that Mrs. Barr had been sexually assaulted and manually strangled. No motive has been established and no suspects have been arrested in the case.
District Attorney Richard B. Russell, one of the first to arrive on the scene at the time, said he found Mrs. Barr on the floor with the lights and television set on and nothing at all disturbed in the house. Burglary was ruled out as a motive by investigators.
Mildred Wilson, 80, Millersburg, was the second elderly widow to fall victim to strangulation.
She was found at her home at 874 E. Union Street, 20 January 1978.
Helen Elizabeth Horn, 68, of Gratz was the third victim.
She died of strangulation and multiple scull fractures, according to an autopsy report.
Mrs. Horn, who also lived alone, was apparently killed about 10 p.m., 22 March. Her body was found the next morning lying on the floor in her dining room. A cellar door window had been broken.
Police in the case have not determined a motive and a suspect brought to trial was acquitted.
The latest victim, Elsie Mae Schoffstall, 62, of 768 Main Street, Lykens. He body was found by her brother,Tuesday morning, lying on the living room floor.
An autopsy revealed that she died of suffocation, multiple head trauma and she was sexually assaulted. The Dauphin County coroner said Mrs. Schoffstall had been “homicidally beaten” about the head and was partially disrobed when found.
Police estimate the time of death at sometime around midnight. Police have no suspects as yet.
Mrs. Schoffstall, also a widow, had taken care of her 97-year-old bedridden mother for the past several years.
The autopsy ruled out strangulation as contributing to the cause of death.
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For all other parts of this story, see: Who Killed Elsie Mae Schoffstall?
News clipping/article from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.