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Man arrested for murdering 6 relatives
Authorities say he confessed to killing his grandmother, two aunts, two cousins and uncle in their Leola home.
Police in Lancaster County reported a multiple homicide in the town of Leola on Wednesday, April 12. The next day, police said Jesse D. Wise Jr. confessed to murdering all six people, all of whom were relatives of his.
Prosecutors charged Jesse Wise with six counts of criminal homicide, two of which were his 64-year-old grandmother, Emily Wise, and his 5-year-old cousin, Chance Wise. The other victims included two aunts, Agnes Arlene Wise, 43, and Wanda Wise, 45; an uncle, Jessie James Wise, 17; and another cousin, Skyler Wise, 19.
Authorities reported the Wise, 21, strangled his grandmother, uncle, and 5-year-old cousin; and beat his two aunts and other cousin. Lancaster County Coroner Dr. G. Gary Kirchner reported that all six victims were hit with a blunt object causing severe head trauma.
The bodies were found in the basement of the family’s home in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Each body was wrapped in blankets and sheets. Investigators found bloodstains on the ceiling and walls of the household. They also discovered blood, hair, bone fragments and a bloodied hammer in upstairs halls and bedrooms. Authorities furthermore uncovered two 17-inch pieces of metal appearing to be homemade weapons. Authorities have yet to determine a motive for the killing spree.
At the arraignment on Thursday, District Justice B. Denise Commins ordered that Wise be held without bail while they await a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 20.
Police say Jessie Lee Wise Sr., husband of Emily Wise and head of the household, called home from the family’s construction company in New York several times Wednesday, but could not reach anyone. His increasing worry led him to call a grandson, John Sean Adams. Adams discovered the bodies in the basement shortly after 2 p.m. Police were notified immediately.
Jesse Wise Jr. has had trouble with the law before. In September, he was arrested on charges of robbery, theft, assault and resisting arrest. He was released on $50,000 bail. Prior to that arrest, according to the Lancaster County Court Administrator’s Office, Wise faced charges of burglary, reckless endangerment, crop destruction, and criminal trespassing. The offenses range from July to August 2004.
Wise has a plea hearing later this month, and, according to reports, recently quit his job at a supermarket.
Rufus Earle, 78, is a close friend to the family. He runs a shop beneath the family’s apartment in Brooklyn. Earle noted that Wise Jr. spent more time growing up with his grandparents than his father. He added that Wise’s father died last year.
Friends, family, and neighbors remain shocked and horrified from this bizarre, spontaneous attack in the small town of Leola.
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