Murder of David Reed
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| Murder of David Reed | |
|---|---|
| Location | Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Date | August 21, 1985 |
Attack type | Homicide |
| Victim | David Wellington Reed, aged 13 |
| Perpetrator | Joseph Geiger |
| Charges | |
David Wellington Reed (January 17, 1972 – August 21, 1985) was a 13-year-old boy in seventh grade at Schuylkill Haven Area Middle School, who was murdered in 1985 by then 20-year-old Joseph "Joe" Geiger in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, United States, over Geiger's stolen illegally grown cannabis plants. Geiger blamed Reed for the disappearance of the drug.[1][2] Friends, family, and teachers remember Reed as an outgoing person who aspired to fly.[citation needed]
Reed's death remained unsolved for 23 years, until the case was reopened in 2005 by the Schuylkill Haven police department. Geiger was arrested in 2008 on the 23rd anniversary of Reed's death and was found guilty of third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, evidence tampering, and abuse of corpse, among other offenses.[1][3]
Reed and his siblings, James and Virginia, had begun using marijuana from young adolescence, and had even begun dealing it themselves during 1985.[3] On the night of August 21, 1985, 13-year-old Reed left home on his bicycle to meet up with friends 20-year-old Joe Geiger and 14-year-old John F. Fry Jr., to drink beer and smoke marijuana in an abandoned caboose at the local train station.[1][2][3]
After a while, Geiger began to accuse Reed of stealing his illegally grown cannabis plants. Suddenly, Geiger stood up and shocked Reed and Fry by punching Reed in the head, causing Reed to fall out of the caboose and slam his skull into the metal rails of the train tracks. Reed was knocked unconscious but was still breathing.[1][2]
Geiger told Fry to leave at this point. Fry, intimidated by the man, left and did not participate in the actual murder and cover-up of the murder that followed. Years later, he admitted to police that he had had no idea of Reed's death until Reed's body was discovered.[2][3]
Geiger then carried Reed's body a few hundred yards into the surrounding woods in Cressona where he left the body. Although the location of Reed's body was less than 100 yards from Reed's home, the body was not discovered until December 1985.[2]
Reed's mother called police when David failed to return home the next day.[4]
Initial investigation
In December 1985, Geiger reported to the Schuylkill Haven police department that—over the course of 3 to 4 months—his two pet dogs had been retrieving bones from the woods in Cressona, where he often allowed them to play. Geiger said that he had no idea the bones were human until the dogs had brought back a human skull.[2] The body was identified positively as that of David W. Reed by authorities. Police noted that the body was about a half mile from his bicycle.
Because he was the one to report the discovery of Reed's body, both the authorities and Reed's family did not suspect Geiger played a role in Reed's death. In fact, authorities did not suspect foul play at all. Although they did report that the death seemed "suspicious," they were satisfied with a coroner's at the University of Penn's conclusion that Reed plausibly had died of previously undiagnosed diabetes complications upon autopsy.[2][3] The actual case files ruled the death as "undetermined" in April 1986, and the case laid cold for the next 20 years.[1][2][3]