Chapter 10 - The Scene of the Crime Tuesday September 20, 1966 When court convened on Tuesday morning September 20 with the jury safely empaneled and sworn in, Assistant District Attorney R. Hart Beaver began his opening statement. The commonwealth would seek to prove that at about 4:00 AM on December 24 of the previous … Continue reading Chapter 10 – The Scene of the Crime
Author: jt
Chapter 9 – Voir Dire
Chapter 9 - Voir Dire Monday September 19, 1966 Most courtroom dramas don’t bother showing how the jury is chosen, leaving the viewer to assume that the twelve jurors arrived by drawing names out of a hat, or perhaps by some legal form of immaculate selection. In reality jury selection is often as critical … Continue reading Chapter 9 – Voir Dire
Chapter 8 – Can You Get Away With Murder in Lebanon County?
Chapter 8 - Can You Get Away With Murder in Lebanon County? August 1959 - June 12, 1963 I remember my mother often saying that you could get away with murder in Lebanon County—and she didn’t just mean that figuratively. She’d trot that out whenever there was a murder trial in the county. I confess … Continue reading Chapter 8 – Can You Get Away With Murder in Lebanon County?
Chapter 7 – Delay, Delay, Delay
Chapter 7 - Delay, Delay, Delay Saturday January 1, 1966 - Wednesday August 24, 1966 Dennis Terry Sites’s arraignment was scheduled for Friday January 7, 1966. Except it wasn’t. A couple days before the arraignment was to take place before Judge G. Thomas Gates, the Honorable Judge Gates patiently explained to anyone who would listen … Continue reading Chapter 7 – Delay, Delay, Delay
Chapter 6 – Preliminary Hearing
Chapter 6 - Preliminary Hearing Tuesday December 28, 1965 - Thursday December 30, 1965 Judge G. Thomas Gates wasted no time in appointing two defense counsel, H. Rank Bickel Jr. and Stanley W. Katz, to represent Dennis Terry Sites, the accused killer of Mrs. Carrie Batdorff Layser, at a cost of $500 each plus reasonable … Continue reading Chapter 6 – Preliminary Hearing
Chapter 5 – Dennis Terry Sites
Chapter 5 - Dennis Terry Sites February 7, 1943 - December 23, 1965 Dennis Terry Sites was born on February 7, 1943, to George P. and Helen Hewitt Sites; he was the sixth of seven children that Newmanstown, Pennsylvania, couple was to have. At the age of two an accident caused a piece of glass … Continue reading Chapter 5 – Dennis Terry Sites
Chapter 4 – The Investigation
Chapter 4 - The Investigation Friday December 24, 1965 - Tuesday December 27, 1965 Officer Sheetz alerted the Pennsylvania State Police and shortly a crew of investigators descended on Richland and began the process of scouring the crime scene and interviewing neighbors to try to find anyone who may have seen anything suspicious. Carrie Layser’s … Continue reading Chapter 4 – The Investigation
Chapter 3 – Where’s Dennis?
Chapter 3 - Where's Dennis? Thursday December 23, 1965 - Friday December 24, 1965 According to later accounts Dennis Sites arrived at the Rising Sun Hotel between 8:00 and 8:30 the evening of December 23 and ordered a beer, the first of many he would consume that night, from the proprietor, Donald Ray Strickler. He … Continue reading Chapter 3 – Where’s Dennis?
Chapter 2 – Carrie
Chapter 2 - Carrie Saturday June 17, 1899 - Thursday December 23, 1965 Supplementary documents such as marriage license applications, census records, etc., can be found on the Carrie page. Kathryn Mae Nissley was born on Saturday June 17, 1899, but other than on her birth certificate, she was rarely referred to as Kathryn again. … Continue reading Chapter 2 – Carrie
Chapter 1 – A Broken Window
Chapter 1 - A Broken Window Friday December 24, 1965 Mrs. Ethel Steinmetz looked at the sky as she walked the short block from her home at 22 Poplar Street to the house on the corner of Linden shortly after 11:00 on the morning of December 24. A few clouds were in sight, and the … Continue reading Chapter 1 – A Broken Window