Alec Devon Kreider
Encyclopedia
Alec Devon Kreider is a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
teenager who was convicted for the three murders of a Manheim Township family on May 12, 2007. Kreider entered guilty pleas to three counts of first degree murder on June 17, 2008.
Kreider is now serving three consecutive life sentences
without the possibility of parole
. Some controversy remains as to the validity of Kreider's convictions. Judge David Ashworth denied Kreider's post-sentence challenge to his consecutive sentences. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed Ashworth's denial. Kreider filed a petition under Pennsylvania's Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act on December 8, 2009. The issues raised in the PCRA raise serious challenges in his case. Common Pleas Court Judge David Ashworth denied the PCRA on June 15, 2010. An appeal to Pennsylvania Superior Court was later discontinued by Kreider. Despite this development, the legal wranglings continue.
Alec and Kevin were in the same German class and were reported by a fellow student to be "close buddies". Alec attended the family's memorial service on May 19, 2007.
The parents were found in their bedroom and Kevin was found at the opposite end of the upstairs hallway on the floor outside his bedroom. According to police reports, bloody shoeprints go away from Kevin's body and enter the parents' bedroom, and then to the common upstairs bathroom where a supposed shoeprint was found on the linoleum in front of the sink. Police presume the murderer attempted to clean up at the sink as blood was also found therein. Bloody shoeprints appeared on lower carpeted steps as the perpetrator exited the house. Blood transfer was also found on the rear sliding glass door.
The law enforcement investigation began around 2:40 a.m. on May 12, 2007. The victims were declared dead shortly after 5 a.m. by deputy county coroners, and autopsies were performed two days later. The day after the murders, bloodhounds tracked "a strong scent of fear" along a path that led down the hill to PA Route 501 and north to an ice cream/fast food restaurant, where the trail vanished. Police presumed the perpetrator had a vehicle waiting and used it to escape. Upon Kreider's arrest, all information associated with the bloodhounds was dismissed, as it did not match law enforcement's new theory. The police explanation was simple: "the dogs made a mistake."
A financial reward offered on behalf of the Haines family remains unclaimed.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
teenager who was convicted for the three murders of a Manheim Township family on May 12, 2007. Kreider entered guilty pleas to three counts of first degree murder on June 17, 2008.
Kreider is now serving three consecutive life sentences
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
without the possibility of parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. Some controversy remains as to the validity of Kreider's convictions. Judge David Ashworth denied Kreider's post-sentence challenge to his consecutive sentences. The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed Ashworth's denial. Kreider filed a petition under Pennsylvania's Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act on December 8, 2009. The issues raised in the PCRA raise serious challenges in his case. Common Pleas Court Judge David Ashworth denied the PCRA on June 15, 2010. An appeal to Pennsylvania Superior Court was later discontinued by Kreider. Despite this development, the legal wranglings continue.
Background of Killings
The victims, Thomas Alan Haines (age 50), an industrial-supplies salesman, Lisa Ann Haines (age 47), a preschool teacher, and their son Kevin, a high school sophomore, were found on May 12 at their house in Manheim Township after their daughter Maggie, a student at Bucknell University, was awakened by a noise in the middle of the night, "smelled blood," and was told by her mother to go for assistance.Alec and Kevin were in the same German class and were reported by a fellow student to be "close buddies". Alec attended the family's memorial service on May 19, 2007.
Murders, Police Response & Investigation
On the morning of May 12, 2007 Kreider allegedly entered the Haines' residence without force. All three victims died from stab wounds. The daughter, Maggie, escaped physical harm. She ran from the home and across the street to a neighbor who called 911 for help. Communication between the neighbor, the call taker at 911, and the dispatcher caused extreme unnecessary delay in police response to the "unknown disturbance". The official timeline notes that it took the first responding officer nearly 12 minutes to arrive from a distance of 4 miles, in the middle of the night with no traffic barriers. Police say this delay had no bearing on the survival of the victims.The parents were found in their bedroom and Kevin was found at the opposite end of the upstairs hallway on the floor outside his bedroom. According to police reports, bloody shoeprints go away from Kevin's body and enter the parents' bedroom, and then to the common upstairs bathroom where a supposed shoeprint was found on the linoleum in front of the sink. Police presume the murderer attempted to clean up at the sink as blood was also found therein. Bloody shoeprints appeared on lower carpeted steps as the perpetrator exited the house. Blood transfer was also found on the rear sliding glass door.
The law enforcement investigation began around 2:40 a.m. on May 12, 2007. The victims were declared dead shortly after 5 a.m. by deputy county coroners, and autopsies were performed two days later. The day after the murders, bloodhounds tracked "a strong scent of fear" along a path that led down the hill to PA Route 501 and north to an ice cream/fast food restaurant, where the trail vanished. Police presumed the perpetrator had a vehicle waiting and used it to escape. Upon Kreider's arrest, all information associated with the bloodhounds was dismissed, as it did not match law enforcement's new theory. The police explanation was simple: "the dogs made a mistake."
Arrest
During a month of intense national and regional media coverage and speculation, including tracking by bloodhounds and an intensive search by PSP cadets, Kreider was arrested on June 16, 2007 after his father, Timothy Scot Kreider, informed authorities that his son had confessed to the killings two days earlier. Police said Kreider was a friend of victim Kevin Haines (16), a fellow sophomore at Manheim Township High School. Kreider pleaded guilty to three counts of first degree murder and was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without parole on June 17, 2008. His age prevented him from being sentenced to death due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Roper v. Simmons (2005).A financial reward offered on behalf of the Haines family remains unclaimed.