Ciao, amici! Today’s murder spotlight hits close to home. Literally. I’m talking about the “kill for thrill” duo John Lesko and Michael Travaglia. They’re from Western Pennsylvania, where (most of) you know I was born and raised. Travaglia went to my high school, and I know some of his family.
Like I said, close to home.
In 1979, Lesko and Travaglia were both 19 years old. They met while working at the Allegheny County Airport. Both abused drugs and alcohol. Some accounts claim they both tortured animals.
A few weeks before Christmas, the pair committed their first-known crime—they robbed Mary Campbell, a convenience store clerk, in Delmont. She believes she would have been their first kill had two customers not entered the store, prompting Lesko and Travaglia to flee.
Then, the week after Christmas, they began their “kill for thrill” murder spree. In a span of eight days, they:
- kidnapped Peter Lovato (49), stole his wallet, tried to drown him in a Loyalhanna creek, then shot and killed him.
- fatally shot Marlene Sue Newcomer (26) in her van on her way home from a party after she picked them up while they were hitchhiking.
- abducted William C. Nicholls (32), stole his car, drove to Blue Spruce Lake, then shot him; while he was still alive, they bound and gagged him, weighted him with rocks, then threw him through a hole in the ice, where he drowned.
- intentionally sped past Patrolman Leonard Miller (21) to get him to give chase, and after he pursued them, they shot him when he approached the car (Miller had only been a full-time officer for three days).
They were arrested in Pittsburgh when a detective with a keen eye spotted a man with a gun standing by a car. When they approached, he claimed he got the gun from two men staying at the Edison Hotel. It was Officer Miller’s gun. When the police found Lesko and Travaglia, Lesko was armed. Instead of shooting the police, he put down the gun and tried to hide it. As soon as the police retrieved it, Travaglia grew cocky. (Strange timing, if you ask me.)
The two killers were sentenced to death in 1981 for killing Officer Miller. They received life sentences for the other three murders. Upon hearing the verdict, Travaglia (then an avowed satanist) turned to his attorney and said, “Are you happy? I’ll be back to get you.”
The cases dragged on over the years, lingering in the appeals process. A few times, the men were retried. They were again found guilty. Twenty-five years after their arrests, Travaglia and Lesko claimed to have found Jesus. Survivors had little sympathy, and their new-found Christianity (obviously) didn’t change anything in their appeals.
Travaglia died of natural causes in prison on September 4, 2017. He was 59. Lesko is still on death row.
Can you imagine a killing spree so close to your home? How strange it is to know the family?
Can you imagine writing a novel about the topic?
Let’s discuss it.
Creepy. Scary. Makes one wonder what happened to them while growing up. And again I say (as I do almost every day when I see the news): What the f*** is wrong with people? I can’t wait for the day when I don’t say it–that will be a good day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’ll be a great day, Julie. I’m looking forward to it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a lovely pair!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right? You can’t imagine the pride we all feel knowing they came from our neck of the woods.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, I won’t hold it against you Staci π
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I appreciate that. (Especially since you have new “insights” into my head after reading Teri’s post.)
LikeLike
Wow, quite a crazy pair, Staci. Stephen King featured something like this in The Stand. The one character’s name was Lloyd and he ends up in prison.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved The Stand. Itβs one of my favorites of his works.
I wonder how many of his stories come real life to spark his creativity.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am sure a lot do, Staci. I am often sparked by something I have read about or experienced.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many of my stories do, too. But I don’t write horror. Then again, I do write thrillers. I hope people don’t think I pull the bad stuff from my life!
LikeLike
that would be frightening to know that such people lived so close to you…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry, Jim. I just found you in spam.
It is a little disturbing. You know those people are out there, but you never think they’re people you know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that’s where a lot of my comments naturally end up! and you’re right, it’s like nimby…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll keep an eye out for you. Hopefully WP learns not to do that to you anymore.
LikeLike
Some people don’t seem to value life at all, especially other peoples’. The killing spree part is bad enough, but shooting the one poor victim and then drowning him? It’s the sick stuff that gets to me the most.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know. Each detail is more offensive than the last. So tragic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That definitely hit close to home, Staci! It’s impossible to know what goes on inside the minds of such sadistic murderers, but many have tried to find out. This is such great story fodder!! Thank you for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jan. There’s something “safe” about not knowing the criminals, victims, and settings. When you know one or more, it’s chilling.
LikeLike
I can’t read or watch true crime. Fiction? No problem for the most part, although I’m starting to be bothered by some of that too, depending on how graphic and/or brutal. I think it has to do with getting older.
I live about thirty minutes from the heart of Amish Country in PA. Back in 2006, a guy went into a one room schoolhouse, tied up 10 Amish girls, shot all of them, then killed himself. Five survived and five died. It was such a heartbreaking tragedy.What I also really remember is that the families of the girls–every last one of them–forgave the killer and extended their sympathies to his wife. It wasn’t just the Amish community that was rocked, but all those around them. You just don’t it expect it to happen where you live.
I was in Amish country just last weekend, sharing the roads with horses and buggies, passing Amish farms and workers. For such a quiet people, they have an amazing and strong conviction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Faith is truly a powerful thing. I’d like to think I’m strong enough to find forgiveness, and when people wrong me in some way, I usually (though, unfortunately, not always) can move on. But don’t wrong my family—I’m never able to rise above that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This reminds me of Capote’s In Cold Blood. So chilling. The random killings are the scariest, I think. Just murdered for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could happen to any of us. Great post for the Halloween season, Staci.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know. That’s such a disturbing thought. Random selection is (in many ways) so much worse than there being a reason behind it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Exactly my thought.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We recently had a pair of teens from a town up-island that went on a killing spree like this (a man from Australia and his American girlfriend, and a marine biologist). They led police in a chase across the country before turning the guns on themselves. Now I’m wondering if they got their idea from Lesko and Travaglia?
I’ve written one thriller with POV’s done in the mind of the killer and have to admit the psychological aspect really pulled me in. What makes them turn to murder? They say no one is born evil- I say maybe not, but there are those who are born with a cruel streak. It’s only one small step to killer.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s so sad, Jacquie. We hear these stories over and over but the horror never seems to diminish. (Which is probably a good thing. I’d hate to feel desensitized to it.)
If you don’t already, you should check out Sue Coletta’s site. She has a great handle on the mind of a killer, and in fact, she recently published a post talking about physiological traits many murders share. (https://www.suecoletta.com/23-physical-abnormalities-of-serial-killers/) We might not be born evil, but something isn’t right inside these people. Maybe some are just strong enough to resist the temptations.
I want to hear more about this book of yours. It sounds like it’s right up my alley.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I stalk/follow Sue- her site is so informative!
You’ve read my book, The Beast Within, and gave it a glowing review- thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah. You rocked that one. I thought you meant a new one and needed to read it.
LikeLike
As many of you know, Staci and I are sisters. I remember the murders quite well. The newspapers came up with the phrase kill for thrills murders because the had no reason for who they chose to kill. They simply chose people that crossed their paths. There were rumors that they killed just to see how the victim would react.
I remember the parents and the brothers. They lost everything defending their son. The story is sad on multiple levels.
LikeLiked by 3 people
So many levels, Michele. I still can’t think about it and not feel sickness and sorrow.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I know. I think about it often. I passed that memorial for Officer Miller so many times. It is down now, but i can’t forget what happened.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Things that change our lives so profoundly are never forgotten.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Close to home is a shock. What really shocks me is that after twenty-five years this animal is still on death row. I have to feel for the victim’s family. This is a case of justice gone bonkers.
LikeLiked by 4 people
It’s the appeals process in our justice system. These murders are still something people at home remember and lament. It will be good for all of us when both killers have died.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think so too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yikes! I’m from Western PA, too–Monroeville, Allegheny County. But a decade before these folks went nuts. Good grief.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I used to read real life stories like this, but it got too much for me. I would never want to be the one defending them. I would only want to write about if I could take what happened and give the victims power and revenge. The Zodiac Killer terrified me.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Especially given he was never caught.
I love true crime stories. My husband and I practically binge watch Forensic Files. I think I like those shows and stories because I want to solve the crimes, too. And I want to find justice. If I wrote these stories (I should say when as I have a few in the works), I’d definitely have some kind of positive resolution for the victims’ loved ones. (But there’s really no positive in a situation like that, is there?)
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re kidding, Jacqui. Monroeville is practically a stone’s throw from my hometown of Vandergrift. I could drive there in my sleep! (And please tell me you’re a fan of Moio’s.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jacqui you are not far from me. I still live in the area.
LikeLiked by 2 people
And I know you know about Moio’s, Michele. π
LikeLiked by 2 people
People are the scariest monsters of all. We really have to be diligent around strangers. I like my stories to be a little more fun, so I won’t be picking this one as the basis for a tale. Someone like Sue Coletta could run with it.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Ah, your first sentence says it all.
And Sue would CRUSH THE CRAP out of a story like this.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I used that line in The Hat, when the first thing they faced together was human.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I remember. It resonated then and now. And, unfortunately, probably always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The evil men do – that’s terrifying. A guy hubby went to school with – all American-type, good athlete and student, friendly – murdered his girlfriend at an old drive-in. Shocked everyone in the community. I think he’s still in prison.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I have two other too-close-to-home stories. I’ll have to remember to share those in future weeks. The proximity factor really gets you in the heart and gut, doesn’t it?
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s particularly scary when something like this hits close to home. Several years ago we had a couple of serial arsonists in this area, one of whom lived within a couple of miles. Although I write murder mysteries and have had serial killers, I don’t often delve deep into the psychological reasons behind the killings. Too scary!
LikeLiked by 4 people
It’s the psychological reasons that interest me most. I like to think if I understand the motivations (and pray those reasons are nothing that I’d ever relate to), I can accept the tragedies easier. I suspect there is no way to ease the feelings that accompany these horrors, but I still look for something to help me cope.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Having this so close to home and knowing those connected/involved does put a whole different focus on the events. I wonder what set the pair off? This could make for a great story … my muse is coming up with posession theories, etc. Thanks for sharing, Staci π
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it’s the “pair” part of the story that’s most frightening. Well, along with them being in my backyard. To think that two people share such twisted thoughts and desires is… well, it’s beyond my ability to describe it.
LikeLiked by 1 person