Kill for Thrill Read online

  There is no greater love than this,

  that a man should lay down his life for his friends.

  —John 15:13–14, New Testament

  THE CRIME SPREE THAT ROCKED WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

  MICHAEL SHEETZ

  Published by The History Press

  Charleston, SC 29403

  www.historypress.net

  Copyright © 2009 by Michael W. Sheetz

  All rights reserved

  First published 2009

  Second printing 2009

  e-book edition 2011

  ISBN 978.1.61423.080.9

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Sheetz, Michael.

  Kill for thrill : the crime spree that rocked western Pennsylvania / Michael W. Sheetz.

  p. cm.

  print edition: ISBN 978-1-59629-498-1

  1. Serial murders--Pennsylvania--Case studies. 2. Serial murderers--Pennsylvania--Case studies. 3. Serial murder investigation--Pennsylvania--Case studies. I. Title.

  HV6533.P4S54 2009

  364.152’3209227488--dc22

  2009000032

  Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  In memory of those who have fallen.

  CONTENTS

  Preface

  Acknowledgements

  Introduction

  PART I

  In Which the Scene Is Set

  Leonard Miller, Model Public Servant

  John Lesko and His Wretched Existence

  Peter Levato Becomes the First Victim

  PART II

  Edward Wolak Finds the Body

  Meet Michael Travaglia

  The Case of the Stolen Kielbasa

  Marlene Sue Newcomer Becomes the Second Victim

  PART III

  Sergeant Tridico Connects the Dots

  Bill Nicholls Becomes the Third Victim

  The Fourth Victim Is Claimed

  Sergeant Tridico Vows to Find the Killers

  PART IV

  The Search Is On

  Doggone Sam’s

  Travaglia and Lesko Are Apprehended

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Appendix

  PREFACE

  The story you are about to read is true. Not true as in “based on,” not true as in “inspired by,” but true as in these events actually happened to real people, in real places and in actual history. To the extent possible, I have culled every detail of this book from original sources—no mean feat considering that many of the events are rapidly approaching their thirtieth anniversary. This work is nonfiction and all events are true; however, in parts I have taken storytelling liberties. In particular, where people and witnesses are no longer available or memories have faded, I have provided my best interpretation of what most likely happened or was said, based on my years of research, interviews, trial transcripts, forensic evidence and firsthand accounts of the incidents by witnesses. Where the story strays from strict nonfiction, I have nonetheless remained true to the factual events as they unfolded.

  While I have paid scrupulous attention to detail, you should be aware that, where the ravages of time and circumstance demand, gaps in verifiable information have been filled in with reasonable extrapolations of what is likely to have happened. When this happens, rest assured that any detail not verifiable with underlying source documentation has absolutely no material bearing on this account. Instead, it merely serves, in the few places that it occurs, to add readability to this tale.

  As in everyday life, factual accounts often differ in trivial ways. In the event that my research has unearthed conflicting versions or diverging accounts of an event, I have attempted to identify the most reasonable alternative and have made every effort to provide authentic accounts of every material detail.

  While researching this story, I attempted to contact the accused. Sadly, these attempts were fruitless, and for whatever reason, they chose not to add their perspectives to the book.

  In addition, I have corresponded with many of the people whose lives this story has touched. Some have died, some have moved away and are unreachable and others have, for personal reasons, chosen to decline my request for an interview. I have attempted as much as possible to respect the privacy of those families of victims who wish to remain in the wings and have endeavored to treat the circumstances surrounding their loved ones’ deaths with accuracy and dignity.

  The brevity of the period that these events cover belies the far-reaching and monstrous effect they have had on the lives of so many innocent people. Police officers such as Donald Mahan, Robin Davis, Jim Clawson and Thomas Tridico will forever carry the heavy burden of losing a fellow officer. Likewise, the family and friends of Michael Travaglia and John Lesko’s other victims can never truly put behind them the dreadful events that took their loved ones from them.

  In some ways, even the passage of twenty-nine years cannot dull the ache that still permeates the pastoral rolling hills that surround Pittsburgh. This is true in part because while the courts convicted Travaglia and Lesko of these murders over twenty-eight years ago, they remain two of America’s most senior death row inmates. Some say that this is an injustice that is unconscionable in our society.

  Since their original conviction in 1981, appeals that Michael Travaglia and John Lesko have pursued have traversed their way up and down Pennsylvania’s court system. As you are about to read, hearings, trial, retrials and resentencings have come and gone, and both men have had death warrants signed—and stayed—twice. Yet they both remain on their respective death rows while friends and loved ones of their victims are left wondering, what is the price of justice?

  Death penalty ideologies notwithstanding, loved ones who have suffered double victimization, first at the hands of the defendants and second at the hands of the system, cannot achieve closure and begin the healing process until the final chapter of this story is written. It is a chapter that, despite all of my hoping and scheming, I am unable to create. If this were a work of fiction, I would have already written a blockbuster ending. Sadly, it is not.

  Beyond mere curiosity, this project has been cathartic in a way. I also have been touched by the events you are about to read. I grew up ten minutes from the very spot where Leonard Miller’s body fell. I went to the same high school as Michael J. Travaglia. In fact, in 1984, a mere four years after Leonard Miller was brutally murdered, I walked the same station house hallways, wore the same uniform patch and patrolled the same city streets that Leonard once patrolled.

  I never met Leonard, but colleagues such as the late Rick Murphy, chief of police at the time Leonard was murdered, and Jim Clawson, chief during my tenure, have shared with me insights into what measure of man Leonard Miller was. I had the opportunity to work with Rick Murphy for several years before his death in 1997. He was kind enough to share insight about Leonard Miller the officer—and the man. I am indebted. You will read of Leonard Miller in the coming chapters. I hope that I have done justice to his memory.

  However, this book is not just about Leonard Miller. Sometimes we are swept away by the atrocity and senselessness of acts that are beyond our comprehension. The murder of a police officer is such an act. However, Leonard’s murder was only the final coup de grâce in a weeklong nightmare that took the lives of three other innocent victims, who,
but for the happenstance of fate, could have just as easily been reading about these events instead of being involved in them.

  In the coming chapters you will meet them all. Marlene Sue Newcomer was a seamstress and mother. Peter Levato was a down-on-his-luck security guard. William Nicholls was a loving son, brother and devoted member of his local church parish. Similar to all of us, they were human beings with human stories. They came from different backgrounds and had different lives. They are all, however, inseparably bound together by one inescapable fact—they encountered Michael Travaglia and John Lesko at the height of their depravity. You will read the facts of their lives as we know them, you will learn of the dreadful fates that befell them and through it all you will ask yourself, why did this happen?

  Thanks to the tireless efforts of Sergeant Thomas Tridico (retired) and his fellow troopers of the Pennsylvania State Police, there have been few aspects of this case left open to speculation. The trial testimony of witnesses, the forensic evidence and even the chilling statements of the defendants themselves have answered many of our questions. Some, however, remain.

  Investigators, victims’ families and the thousands of residents of the quiet valleys surrounding Pittsburgh search to this day for words to explain what caused two men to snap in such a horrific, violent and unpredictable way. The carnage they left behind still haunts those closest to it.

  As we look back at the lives of Michael Travaglia and John Lesko, we will see two men who are in many ways similar yet, in others, wildly different. These are men who, for the most part, led uneventful lives; lives of mediocrity. Individually, they are indistinct and innocuous. However, each found in the other some indefinable and undeniable element that united them in a relentless pursuit of violence and depravity.

  Perhaps the nonstop drug and alcohol abuse that punctuated that infamous week destroyed their abilities to think rationally. Perhaps, as some have claimed, John Lesko was defective and his latent homophobic rage boiled over into a murderous rampage. Alternatively, perhaps there is no truly rational reason. After all, some actions seem to defy explanation and refuse to comply with our very human need to neatly compartmentalize everything in our world.

  We may never unravel the why. Instead, what follows is a factual account of the events of those eight days.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A project of the scope of Kill for Thrill would not have been possible had it not been for the tremendous support that I received from so many people. From the research and investigation stage to the conceptualization stage to the editorial stage, I am indebted to so many people that I cannot possibly repay them for their untiring support. If I were to list everyone whose contributions to this project made it possible, the acknowledgements section would far exceed the length of the entire book. However, there are several people in particular whose close associations with the project have made it far more manageable:

  Thomas Tridico, who has offered me insight, shared his experiences and provided me with details that otherwise would have gone unrecorded in history.

  Dr. William H. Kerr, who was instrumental in bringing greater personal perspective to the events of Christmas 1979 and was kind enough to share with me many of his personal writings and ruminations on the murder of Leonard Miller.

  Jim Clawson, who was perhaps Leonard’s closest friend at the time of his death. By graciously allowing me into his world, Jim offered me a very precious glance of who Leonard Miller was.

  Dr. Maggie Patterson, professor of communications at Duquesne University, who was tremendously helpful in understanding the events that made John Lesko the person he is. Her research and that of her students into John Lesko and his family have formed the basis for much of what ends up being a very shocking glimpse of what it must have been like to be John Lesko in 1979.

  Rick Facchine, with whom I worked during most of my police career. I am permanently in his debt. He acted as a visionary, a sounding board, an instigator and, above all, a good friend during twenty years of policing and beyond.

  The late Richard Murphy, who will never know how helpful his sardonic wit and down-to-earth manner were in helping me understand Leonard Miller a little bit better.

  For their tireless editorial support, I would like to thank my mother and father, Ronald Sheetz and Carol Sue Nichols, and my wife, Susan, whose patience gave me the courage to finish this project.

  INTRODUCTION

  Although this book is intentionally neutral on the validity or efficacy of the death penalty as a means of punishment for criminal conduct, the implication of everything that it touches nearly screams for attention.

  Like any emotionally charged topic, death penalty discussions often create strong division among its various factions. In this matter, there are rarely abstainers from the debate, and usually both camps offer strong, emotion-laden defenses of their positions.

  In this brief introduction, you will hear neither emotion nor argument. Instead, what I have prepared for you is a cursory overview of the death penalty that may await Travaglia and Lesko at the end of this completely sordid ordeal.

  In November 1990, Governor Robert P. Casey signed into law a bill changing Pennsylvania’s method of execution from death by electrocution to death by lethal injection. For many years, the state kept the methods, exact drugs composing the lethal cocktail and execution procedures strictly confidential. However, recent disclosures by the state have made the execution process more transparent.

  Pursuant to the switch to lethal injection, Pennsylvania dismantled its electric chair and, in 1997, remodeled the execution complex at SCI Rockview. As part of the renovations, the state relocated the complex to a former field hospital on the grounds of the facility but outside the walls of the prison. Included in the complex, in addition to the execution chamber itself, are three maximum-security cells used to house condemned inmates immediately before the state carries out their sentences, office space and the apparatus of the execution.

  The new location of the complex offers several benefits to corrections officials, including easing the preparation process without disturbing the day-to-day operations of the rest of the facility. Additionally, it allows the witnesses and family members to attend the execution without having to pass into the facility. Officials herald this as an increase in safety and security.

  While the execution complex is used to house condemned inmates immediately prior to their execution, inmates under a pending sentence of death are housed in administrative custody status in a housing area known as Restricted Housing Units (RHU). Even though Pennsylvania has several maximum-security facilities, currently the only facilities that Pennsylvania state law authorizes to house death row inmates are State Correctional Institutes (SCI) Greene and Graterford for men and SCI Muncy for women.

  Once the governor has signed the condemned inmate’s death warrant, officials transfer him to solitary confinement, where he is under constant direct supervision. His visitation rights are also severely restricted. In most circumstances, immediate family, legal counsel and a designated member of the clergy are the only people who may visit the inmate.

  In addition to restrictions on their visitation, inmates’ personal belongings are strictly limited. Guards allow them a mattress, a pillow, a blanket, sheets, a towel, a bar of soap, their institutional clothing, some limited religious material, legal papers, a few personal photos and very few consumables like cigarettes, a toothbrush, toothpaste and pens/pencils. In addition, an inmate may possess one book at a time and may have a television or radio placed outside his cell and within view for a limited time each day.

  On the day prior to the execution, the inmate is prepared for execution and offered a selection of a last meal from a prepared list of available items. Contrary to Hollywood portrayals, the prisoner’s last meal is not anything he chooses. Instead, each inmate is given a list of available meals from which to choose his final meal.

  At the designated time of execution, the execution team escorts the inmate t
o the injection room, where team members strap him to a gurney. One intravenous needle is then inserted into each arm—one primary to carry out the execution and a backup in the event that the first fails to perform properly. The tubes from these IV needles are connected to an IV pump in another room, and a saline drip is begun to ensure proper flow of liquids into the prisoner’s system.

  Medical personnel attach a heart monitor to the inmate, and once the execution team receives confirmation from the warden that the execution is to proceed, someone opens the curtain separating the injection room from the observation gallery. Once the defendant has completed his final words, the warden signals that the execution is to begin. Barring a last-minute stay, the execution team begins to administer a lethal cocktail of drugs consisting of two to five grams of sodium thiopental (commonly known as sodium pentothal), one hundred milligrams of pancuronium bromide and one hundred microequivalents of potassium chloride.

  Sodium thiopental is an ultra–short acting barbiturate, which in high dosages causes near instantaneous coma. At nearly five times the average normal dose, the amount used in the execution cocktail is usually sufficient to induce coma within ten seconds.

  Pancuronium bromide acts as a paralyzing agent, inducing total muscular paralysis within fifteen to thirty seconds. Although some states use tubocurarine chloride or succinylcholine chloride, they all serve the same function in the execution cocktail—paralyze the defendant and induce respiratory arrest within thirty seconds.

  Between the delivery of each drug in the cocktail, technicians flush the IV lines in order to prevent accidental mixtures of the three drugs. Inadvertent mixing of the chemicals would form precipitates and would ultimately block the tubing, leading to a botched execution.