April 14
PENNSYLVANIA: 6 bodies found in tiny Pennsylvania town; homeowner's grandson arrested A young man was charged Thursday with bludgeoning or strangling 6 relatives whose bodies were found wrapped in sheets and blankets in the basement of his grandmother's home. Authorities said Jesse Dee Wise, 21, confessed, but they would not comment on a motive. The victims spanned 3 generations of the same family; the youngest was just 5 years old. 3 of the victims were hit in the head with a blunt metal object, and 3 others were strangled, police said in an affidavit. Wise was arraigned on 6 counts of criminal homicide. As a judge recited the charges, Wise seemed to read along with a listing of the victims. "When will I get a lawyer?" he asked. Wise was ordered held without bail. The judge set a preliminary hearing for April 20. Authorities said his parents were both dead and that he lived with his grandparents. A relative said Wise worked at a supermarket until a couple of weeks ago. Investigators discovered bone fragments, hair and a hammer in 2 upstairs bedrooms. There also appeared to be blood on the walls and ceilings, authorities said. In a guitar case at the home, police found 2 17-inch pieces of metal that appeared to have blood on them. The objects were wrapped at one end with cloth and "had the appearance of a homemade weapon/club, capable of causing death if used as a weapon," according to the affidavit. The victims apparently died of multiple traumatic injuries sometime last weekend, Lancaster County District Attorney Don Totaro said. The dead were identified as Wise's 64-year-old grandmother, Emily Wise; 2 relatives believed to be his aunts; 2 of Emily Wise's grandchildren, ages 5 and 19; and a 17-year-old relative, said East Lampeter Township police Chief John Bowman. The bodies were found after Emily Wise's husband called from New York on Wednesday asking a relative to check on his family in the 3-story house in Leola, a small village in Lancaster County's rural Amish country. Jessie Wise, 60, was worried because he had not heard from his wife since Friday, authorities said. The relative, John Sean Adams, 24, met the first officer at the house. When they went inside, Adams stopped halfway down the basement steps and yelled, "They're all dead! All six of them are dead!" the affidavit stated. Shortly afterward, police pulled over Wise's car and arrested him. Court records indicate Wise was familiar to police. More than a dozen charges are pending against him in the county, including burglary, theft, vandalism, assault and robbery. Adams, who said he is the suspect's cousin, said Jesse Dee Wise went by the nickname "Jay" and has a baby daughter who lives with her mother. He said he harbored little sympathy for his cousin. "If he killed his little 5-year-old cousin, he has no heart," Adams told The Associated Press. At the house, police found several bodies wrapped in sheets and blankets and piled on the basement floor, one of them with obvious head wounds, according to the affidavit. One body was at the bottom of the steps wrapped in a comforter secured with a phone cord. The affidavit also described blood in the rooms and bone fragments. Police searched the property for fingerprints, weapons, a hammer and phone cord, as well as anything wrapped around the victims' necks. They also sought personal effects and financial information related to the victims. In addition to Emily Wise, the victims were Wanda Wise, 45; Agnes Arlene Wise, 43; Skyler Wise, 19; Chance Wise, 5; and Jessie James Wise, 17. Chance was "a typically energetic kindergartner," said Gerald Huesken, superintendent of Conestoga Valley School District. Schools were closed Thursday, the 1st day of spring break, but counselors would be at the elementary school when classes resume Tuesday to talk with students, he said. Neighbors said the family had lived in the house for about 6 months. Susanne Shand and her 2 young daughters stopped at the home Thursday to pay their respects, leaving a plant and a white teddy bear with a ribbon bearing the words, "Rest in Peace." (source: Associated Press)
