Free Kill for Thrill by Michael W. Sheetz Page B

and tucked them into a bag, and then, satisfied that he had as much information as he needed, Trooper Chuck Lutz thanked the impish little man behind the counter and walked to his car.
    Once more behind the wheel of his car, with its heater spewing warm air, Lutz radioed headquarters that he had completed the case and would be returning shortly.
    He pulled the car into drive and followed the gentle curve of the motel driveway out onto Route 22. Traffic was light, so he quickly eased into the flow headed east on 22 toward Route 66. About a half mile down the road, he passed Joe’s Steakhouse and the cornfield.

    The slow descent of the crystal globe in Times Square had begun. Its descent signaled a close to the eighth decade of the twentieth century. A decade that began with the invasion of Cambodia and the death of four at Kent State would end with a near nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island and the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union. Events of global proportion that shaped our world for years to come can claim their home in the decade that was the 1970s.
    For all the hope that a new year brings, especially a new year heralding a new decade, the eve of the dawn of 1980 did not foretell great fortunes or wondrous achievements. In fact, with unemployment at a staggering 5.8 percent and the U.S. steel industry, automobile makers and other members of the industrial complex on the verge of collapse, the promises of 1980 were few and modest.
    During the ebbing decade, we had lost the likes of John Wayne, Arthur Fiedler and Nelson Rockefeller to name only a few. Though we could not know it at the time, the new decade would bring the loss of John Lennon, Jean Paul Sartre, the hijacking of the Achille Lauro , explosions of the AIDS epidemic and the space shuttle Challenger and countless other historic events. For Marlene Sue Newcomer, these impending historic events were but a blip on the horizon on this dawning new year.
    For Marlene, the start of 1980 was supposed to mark a new beginning. Several months earlier, her husband had passed away, leaving her alone to care for her son, Jimmy. Alone and with a fatherless six-year-old, Marlene had turned to her friends and family in Leisenring for support.
    The eleventh of twelve children, Marlene had recently moved in with her mother, Stella, who was helping to raise young Jimmy. She was just beginning to get back in touch with who she was. Her strong religious conviction had helped guide her through the recent troubled times, and she was once again enjoying singing in the church choir.
    What better opportunity to celebrate a new beginning than by ringing in the new year with friends. Celebration brought Marlene into Vandergrift on New Year’s Eve 1979. Celebration would cause her path to cross that of Michael Travaglia and John Lesko.
    Michael and John spent the nascent hours of 1980 in revelry. While Marlene was sharing festive thoughts with her friends in Vandergrift, Michael and John had joined the Travaglia family for a New Year’s Eve celebration at their rural Washington Township home not far from Route 66. Oblivious to the carnage that the younger Travaglia and his partner had left behind, the Travaglia family joined together to welcome in 1980 with hopes for a prosperous new year—hopes that would ultimately fall short.
    Satisfied by their brief respite, Lesko and Travaglia set out from the family homestead on foot. The hitchhike back to Pittsburgh was slow going. A thick fog had begun to roll in and the walk was sure to be an unpleasant one. By this time, the temperatures had once again begun to drop into the twenties. Heading toward Route 66, they tucked their hands in the pockets of their jackets and trudged forward.
M ARLENE S UE N EWCOMER B ECOMES THE S ECOND V ICTIM
    Tuesday, January 1, 1980
    Marlene had surprised herself. She had enjoyed her evening in Vandergrift. A small Rockwellian town northeast of Pittsburgh, it seemed as if someone had simply plopped it