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!
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That’ll be a great day, Julie. I’m looking forward to it.
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Pingback: Friday Finds – Staci Troilo
What a lovely pair!
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Right? You can’t imagine the pride we all feel knowing they came from our neck of the woods.
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Haha, I won’t hold it against you Staci 🙂
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Thanks. I appreciate that. (Especially since you have new “insights” into my head after reading Teri’s post.)
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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.
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I loved The Stand. It’s one of my favorites of his works.
I wonder how many of his stories come real life to spark his creativity.
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I am sure a lot do, Staci. I am often sparked by something I have read about or experienced.
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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!
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that would be frightening to know that such people lived so close to you…
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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.
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I think that’s where a lot of my comments naturally end up! and you’re right, it’s like nimby…
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I’ll keep an eye out for you. Hopefully WP learns not to do that to you anymore.
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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.
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I know. Each detail is more offensive than the last. So tragic.
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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.
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Thanks, Jan. There’s something “safe” about not knowing the criminals, victims, and settings. When you know one or more, it’s chilling.
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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.
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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.
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I hear you!
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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.
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I know. That’s such a disturbing thought. Random selection is (in many ways) so much worse than there being a reason behind it.
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Exactly my thought.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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Ah. You rocked that one. I thought you meant a new one and needed to read it.
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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.
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So many levels, Michele. I still can’t think about it and not feel sickness and sorrow.
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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.
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Things that change our lives so profoundly are never forgotten.
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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.
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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.
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I think so too.
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Yikes! I’m from Western PA, too–Monroeville, Allegheny County. But a decade before these folks went nuts. Good grief.
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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.
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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?)
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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.)
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Jacqui you are not far from me. I still live in the area.
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And I know you know about Moio’s, Michele. 😉
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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.
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Ah, your first sentence says it all.
And Sue would CRUSH THE CRAP out of a story like this.
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I used that line in The Hat, when the first thing they faced together was human.
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I remember. It resonated then and now. And, unfortunately, probably always.
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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.
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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 🙂
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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.
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Staci, just reading your post now and remembering my classmate Leonard. We graduated together from Apollo-Ridge in 1977. I am so proud and grateful to had known him in his short life. Leonard was funny and kind. I believe I was in the Apollo square when the raced past trying to get Leonard’s attention. We used to hang out at the Stop n Go (I believe that was the name of the little convenience store).I went home right about the time Leonard took off in chase. I also think my sister and I might have been exposed to the pairs wickedness one night before the murder of Leonard and sometime when they threw Mr. Nicholls into the lake. My sister and I were travelling very late one night or early one morning along the road leading to Avonmore. We thought we saw something that resembled a person lying in the middle of the road. We did not stop because we were two young girls alone in the vehicle and no homes were close by and this was in the era where cell phones didn’t exist readily. I feel I should have called the police when we returned home; however, we were so unsure of what we saw. As we found out about their travels to Blue Spruce Lake we talked about how they might have been out in the are of Salina perhaps trying to kidnap others in the middle of the night for more of their “thrill killing”. Although I have moved away from the Apollo area, I still remember this viscous time in our community. I am proud of the way that the community has paid tribute to such a fine and serving young man, Mr. Leonard Miller.
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Thank you for sharing your memories of Leonard Miller. It’s a lovely and fitting tribute to a fine man.
That was such a horrible time in our history. There’s no way you could have known what you’d seen, and had you called the authorities, there would have been nothing they could have done. The vile duo would have long since moved on from where you’d seen them. Thank God you and your friend didn’t stop that night.
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