Kathleen P. Munley - The Freach and Keen Murders: The True Story of the Crime That Shocked and Changed a Community Forever

The Freach and Keen
Murders

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Munley, Kathleen Purcell.

The Freach and Keen murders : the true story of the crime that shocked and changed a community forever / Kathleen P. Munley and Paul R. Mazzoni.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-4579-2 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4422-4580-8 (electronic)

1. MurderPennsylvaniaScrantonHistory20th century. 2. Murder victimsPennsylvaniaScrantonHistory20th century. 3. Trials (Murder) PennsylvaniaScrantonHistory20th century. 4. MurderPennsylvaniaScrantonHistory20th century. 5. RapePennsylvaniaScrantonHistory20th century. 6. Middle school studentsPennsylvaniaScrantonHistory20th century. I. Mazzoni, Paul R., 1935 II. Title.

HV6534.S39M86 2015

364.152'3092dc23

2014045593

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

The authors dedicate this book to the memory of Paul P. J. Freach and Edmund Buddy Keen.

This book is also dedicated to Captain Frank Karam, who led the investigation and worked relentlessly to bring William Wright to justice.

This book was written for the sole purpose of informing those who remember the tragic event of November 1, 1973, of the truththe whole truth, so to speakof this sad, horrific event. Although many people of northeastern Pennsylvania remember the murders, few have awareness of the details and of some of the parties that were so instrumental in moving the case forward. Two in particular should be mentioned: the camper and the hitchhiker. Both persons were key to the arrest and successful prosecution of the murderer, William Wright. Thomas Nasser, the hitchhiker, had come so close to being a victim of Wright and lived to describe the circumstances of this encounter and identify Wright as his assailant. Joseph McNamara, the camper, accidentally discovered the boys schoolbooks at the dumping site in Wyoming County and reported his findings to the police. The information provided by the camper led police to the bodies of Freach and Keen and changed the nature of the case from missing persons to murder. The actions of both men made it possible for law enforcement to connect William Wright to the commission of the murder of the two boys from Minooka.

The authors thank the following for their assistance in the completion of this book:

The people who consented to be interviewed and shared their memories of this event.

The Times-Tribune and Brian Fulton, librarian manager, for his help in gathering articles and pictures.

Mary Ann Moran Savakinus of the Lackawanna Historical Society, Kay Stephenson of the Wayne County Historical Society, and Joseph Pearce of the Centre County Library and Historical Museum for researching their archives for pictures.

Karen Boland for her technology assistance in editing and formatting the manuscript and gathering the photos and files.

Marywood University students and former students Stanley Kania, Gia Reviello, Paige Costanzi, Yeslene Dijol, and Kenny Luck for their able assistance with the research.

Marywood University for the internal research grant they provided.

This book is about the brutal murder of two boys in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1973. It is written not to sensationalize or minimize the circumstances of this dark segment of a communitys history but to tell a story about a crimea crime that had wide-reaching impacts on the lives of many in this region. Scranton is perhaps best known for the illustrious role it played in the economic history of the United States as a center for coal mining and other major industries and businessesa region that by the 1970s was no longer an economic giant but supported a declining economy and unemployment. This was a crime that never should have happened, committed by a cold-blooded killer who had murdered at least twice before and who should have never been released back into the public. As the truth of this dark tragedy that befell these two young boys unfolded, their loving families, friends, neighbors, and people of the region in general were joined as one in feelings of total unbelief, anger, and fear.

While a story of deep pain, this is also a story of courage and fortitudein particular of the families who lost so much and all whose lives changed as a result of this unspeakable crime. It is a story of quiet dedication and firm determination of multiple law enforcement personnel, men and women hardened by the nature of their work but who, nonetheless, reacted in horror at the brutality and senselessness of this crime and devoted long hours to finding the killer and prosecuting him to the fullest extent of the law.

The Freach and Keen murders forever changed the people of the region in and around Scranton, Pennsylvania. In many ways it was a defining time for the people of this area, a time that marked a change in the way the community thought of this region and the safe neighborhoods they had come to take for granted. The murders of the two young schoolboys forever cast a shadow on the lives of so manya shadow that persists to the present, in the knowledge that, even in the pleasant light of day, evil can and does exist, and one must be on guard always.

The Hitchhikers Tale

On October 26, 1973, Thomas Nasser, from Montrose, Pennsylvania, was nineteen years old and a sophomore at Lock Haven State College (now Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania), located in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. As he did most Fridays, he was planning on returning home to Montrose for the weekend, a trip of some 125 miles. Usually he traveled home in the company of two friends, but on this Friday, his friends had decided to go to Penn State, about a half hour drive from Lock Haven. Tom did not normally hitchhike, but this day, owing to the fact that his brother was playing in an important soccer game later that afternoon and he wanted to be there, he decided to make his way to the highway to pick up a ride northward. Tom would later recall that it was a beautiful, warm October day with a temperature of about seventy-two degrees. He got a ride quickly from Lock Haven, heading east on Interstate 80 east to 81 north. His ride took him just north of Scranton on Interstate 81 to the exit for Dickson City. He did not have long to wait for a second ride to take him on the next leg of his journey homenorth on Interstate 81 to his home. This ride was going to take him up I-81 to the New Milford exit, where he would then get another ride that would be going to his hometown.