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Trial
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A portion of the lawn was
ablaze but damage to the residence was light, the front page
story in the Gettysburg Times
described the scene as emergency responders began arriving. Neighbor Danny Bledsoe
said the children claimed their
kitchen was on fire and their
dad was hurt laying out in the
backyard. He also said he understood Keith had been kicked
out of the house because he
refused to pay rent. Another
neighbor, David W. Shorb, said
he was awakened by screams,
apparently after the shooting
took place.
One of the storys contributing writers, R. Mark Purdy, recalled the case instantly.
Everyone was talking about
it, Purdy, now of ACNB Bank,
said. I had just started working
at the Times maybe a week before the murders happened. I
was actually hired as a sports
writer but this was one of those
major stories where everyone
pitched in.
According to then Adams
County Coroner Dr. Robert S.
Lefever, Nancy was shot once
from long range with an entry
wound in her back and exit
point through her neck.
POINT BLANK
Deborah was shot once at
point blank range. The bullet
entered her face, tracked along
her spinal column and dissipated into the anterior of her body.
Further examination of both
women showed the weapon was
the same 16-gauge shotgun. Six
shotgun shells were found in
and around the residence.
Pennsylvania State Trooper
Donald Simpson, one of the
first on the scene, found the
rear door of the one level residence forced open. Inside were
two bottles of gasoline which
had been ignited and thrown
into the residence. Multiple ski
masks and gloves were also
found near the house. A gas
can and quart-sized Miller beer
bottles were found 300 feet east
of the Patterson property line.
Keith Patterson subsequently
Then Public
Defender John Kuhn
JUDGE KUHN
There was a lot of credibility in a 9-year-old boy, Hartman said. Why would he lie?
Before the trial, however, he
was not so sure anymore that it
was Keith and at trial his testimony was not strong.
CHANGED HIS TUNE
Sell also changed his tune.
I remember at trial when I
asked him who did it, he said I
cant say it wasnt Keith Patterson, Hartman said. The fact
that he didnt say it was Keith
Patterson I think really affected
the jury.
A final thing going against
Keith were the Molotov cocktails used to firebomb the house.
They were made using
quart-sized Miller beer bottles, Hartman said. That was
Keiths drink of choice. Miller
was a fairly popular drink and
quart bottles were popular at
the time but given the testimony of his family, this was strong
evidence for us.
Kuhn made several defense
arguments including that the
only vehicle at Keiths residence that could have been
driven from the crime scene,
had an engine block that was
not warm.
The police felt that engine
maybe an hour or so after the
murders and it wasnt warm,
Kuhn said. If that vehicle had
been driven, it would not have
I thought we put
forth the best case
we had at the time. I
wouldnt have prosecuted at that time if
I didnt think it was a
good case.
Then District
Attorney Gary Hartman
ATTORNEY HARTMAN