GUILTY PA - Tom, 51, Lisa, 47, & Kevin Haines, 16, murdered, Manheim Twp, 12 May 2007
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The press conference has the detectives all commending each other for this arrest, 'as a result of the investigation'.
The arrest was made as a result of the father turning him in after his son confessed. Not as a result of the investigation.
The arrest was made as a result of the father turning him in after his son confessed. Not as a result of the investigation.
I had been following the case from the beginning, and am so happy that they made an arrest, although I am shocked at the age of Kreider. I guess nothing should surprise me anymore about the age that someone is capable of killing. I am new to the site here, and I think it is one of the best sites around.
calidreamin
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Welcome to websleuths sunnygirl. I am glad they made an arrest also, I was afraid they would never catch this nut. I know what you mean about the kids age but I really expected it to be someone Kevin knew. It's unfortunate but it is the world today.
Thanks for the welcome calidreamin. It is not much, but knowing what posessed him to do it would maybe be useful in understanding these young killers, although they themselves probably don't know why themselves, or won't admit what goes through their minds!
nanandjim
Former Member
I agree. It's sad to think that there may have been no arrest had the father not done the right thing.
txsvicki
Active Member
Maybe this is the kid from school that students were said to be suspecting from the beginning and that's why he went to a mental facility hoping to prolong more questioning. I'd like to know what problems he could have possibly had with Kevin, or imagined problems. How sad.
SieSie
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Welcome, sunnygirl!! I agree that WS is one of the best sites around, and I'm also glad that they made an arrest in this case. We have a lot in common!
I'm sure Maggie is relieved to know they found the killer. I commend the father for turning his son in, and hope that the media respects the family's privacy - they did the right thing when they found out. :clap:
Sounds like this kid had been interviewed by LE but was not on their radar?? I wonder if he had scratches or cuts.
I need to go read more details about this and then I'm off to bed. I said that an hour ago on a different thread, lol!
crimesleuther
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I can't imagine what Alec's dad went through between the time his son confessed and going to the police about it. The protective parent part of you would surely want to protect and rescue your son from the horrible situation he had created for everyone, and the law abiding moral part of you knowing you had to do the right thing and turn in your own child. It must be unbearable trying to accept the reality that your son could do such a thing and trying to understand why and where you may have gone wrong. I fell sympathy for everyone involved and respect his dad for doing the right thing even when it had to have been the worst thing he's ever had to do. So lucky for maggie to have survived this, and so sad she lost her whole family in such a brutal way, I pray she has the strength (and tons of friends, family, & community members) to help her through this tragedy, she's going to need it.
Jaded
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Welcome to WS! I feel the same way - nothing should shock me anymore, but it does. It's hard for me to understand why people do the things that they do.
Bobbisangel
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I wonder why he was going to go in and smother Kevin and then decided to kill the family by stabbing them to death? He had something against Kevin..at least in his mind but why the mom and dad too? He must not have even realized that Maggie was at home. If he just knew Kevin from school Kevin may have talked about his sister away at college and he might have thought she was still there.
I'm also glad that the father did the right thing. I would have done the same thing even though it would be the hardest thing for a parent to do even though it is the right thing. I hope the towns people realize this and don't give this family a hard time because of what their son did. I doubt that they had any idea that he was capable of such a thing. I wonder what mental health issues this kid has and how long he has had them. It will be interesting to hear...if we do hear...how this kid ended up going to a facility after the murders. To confess to his dad it sounds like it bothered him...I hope that is why he told his dad anyway. I wonder what he thought his dad would do about it. The dad had to have know that turning him in would be the end of that boys life so to speak. Bless him for doing it anyway.
I'm also glad that the father did the right thing. I would have done the same thing even though it would be the hardest thing for a parent to do even though it is the right thing. I hope the towns people realize this and don't give this family a hard time because of what their son did. I doubt that they had any idea that he was capable of such a thing. I wonder what mental health issues this kid has and how long he has had them. It will be interesting to hear...if we do hear...how this kid ended up going to a facility after the murders. To confess to his dad it sounds like it bothered him...I hope that is why he told his dad anyway. I wonder what he thought his dad would do about it. The dad had to have know that turning him in would be the end of that boys life so to speak. Bless him for doing it anyway.
poco
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Manheim Township student charged in Haines case; friends say Haines son and accused were good friends
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - For more than a month, authorities say, Alec Devon Kreider kept the horrible secret from his friends, from his classmates and from the police.
In the end, he couldn't keep it from his dad.
Kreider was arrested late Saturday afternoon and charged with criminal homicide in the May 12 stabbing deaths of Tom, Lisa and Kevin Haines in the family's Blossom Hill home. Kreider was one of several Manheim Township High School students questioned in the case but police say the big break came Tuesday, when he admitted to his father that he was the killer.
According to the police affidavit, Kreider told his father, Timothy Scot Kreider, that he entered the Haines home intending to smother Kevin Haines, 16. Friends say Kevin and Alec were close buddies.
But instead of smothering his friend, Alec told his father that he "intentionally used a knife to kill" Kevin and his parents, Tom and Lisa. Maggie Haines, 20, escaped after hearing a yell for help, running to a neighbor's house to call police.
Two days after his son's admission, Timothy Kreider called the police.
Officials Saturday were releasing very little information, with Manheim Township Police Chief Neil Harkins saying during a late-afternoon press conference that "We possess a significant amount of information we will not be able to share at this point."
"We're not holding or hiding anything," he added.
Lancaster County District Attorney Donald Totaro did say that after committing the crime, Alec Kreider returned to his mother's home at 1264 Cobblestone Lane, less than half a mile from the Haines home.
Kreider's parents are divorced, and Totaro said he did not know whether Kreider lived with his mother, in the Cobblestone Court development, or at his father's home on Dolly Drive in Bloomingdale.
Police refused to speculate on a motive, and would not say whether they had recovered the murder weapon.
Kreider was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge David P. Miller just prior to the 5:40 p.m. press conference and charged with three counts of criminal homicide and one count of burglary. He was being held in Lancaster County Prison without bail.
"This was an intentional, premeditated, deliberate crime," said Totaro. "It was not a random case."
Though Kreider is being charged as an adult, Totaro said authorities could not seek the death penalty because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be imposed on a juvenile.
'Great friends'
Kreider is being represented by Jack Kenneff, a former Lancaster County assistant district attorney. Kenneff said a preliminary hearing is scheduled in the case for 1:30 p.m. June 20, but that he will seek a continuance.
He declined to speculate on Kreider's frame of mind.
But one Manheim Township student who knew both Kreider and Kevin Haines said he was "stunned" to hear the news.
"They were great friends. Kevin talked about Alec all the time," said Ben Opp, a sophomore who was in Alec Kreider's German class.
Opp described Kreider as "a smart kid, kind of like Kevin, but less approachable. Once you got to know him, he was really funny.
"But he could be kind of dark sometimes."
more at link.......
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/205777
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - For more than a month, authorities say, Alec Devon Kreider kept the horrible secret from his friends, from his classmates and from the police.
In the end, he couldn't keep it from his dad.
Kreider was arrested late Saturday afternoon and charged with criminal homicide in the May 12 stabbing deaths of Tom, Lisa and Kevin Haines in the family's Blossom Hill home. Kreider was one of several Manheim Township High School students questioned in the case but police say the big break came Tuesday, when he admitted to his father that he was the killer.
According to the police affidavit, Kreider told his father, Timothy Scot Kreider, that he entered the Haines home intending to smother Kevin Haines, 16. Friends say Kevin and Alec were close buddies.
But instead of smothering his friend, Alec told his father that he "intentionally used a knife to kill" Kevin and his parents, Tom and Lisa. Maggie Haines, 20, escaped after hearing a yell for help, running to a neighbor's house to call police.
Two days after his son's admission, Timothy Kreider called the police.
Officials Saturday were releasing very little information, with Manheim Township Police Chief Neil Harkins saying during a late-afternoon press conference that "We possess a significant amount of information we will not be able to share at this point."
"We're not holding or hiding anything," he added.
Lancaster County District Attorney Donald Totaro did say that after committing the crime, Alec Kreider returned to his mother's home at 1264 Cobblestone Lane, less than half a mile from the Haines home.
Kreider's parents are divorced, and Totaro said he did not know whether Kreider lived with his mother, in the Cobblestone Court development, or at his father's home on Dolly Drive in Bloomingdale.
Police refused to speculate on a motive, and would not say whether they had recovered the murder weapon.
Kreider was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge David P. Miller just prior to the 5:40 p.m. press conference and charged with three counts of criminal homicide and one count of burglary. He was being held in Lancaster County Prison without bail.
"This was an intentional, premeditated, deliberate crime," said Totaro. "It was not a random case."
Though Kreider is being charged as an adult, Totaro said authorities could not seek the death penalty because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be imposed on a juvenile.
'Great friends'
Kreider is being represented by Jack Kenneff, a former Lancaster County assistant district attorney. Kenneff said a preliminary hearing is scheduled in the case for 1:30 p.m. June 20, but that he will seek a continuance.
He declined to speculate on Kreider's frame of mind.
But one Manheim Township student who knew both Kreider and Kevin Haines said he was "stunned" to hear the news.
"They were great friends. Kevin talked about Alec all the time," said Ben Opp, a sophomore who was in Alec Kreider's German class.
Opp described Kreider as "a smart kid, kind of like Kevin, but less approachable. Once you got to know him, he was really funny.
"But he could be kind of dark sometimes."
more at link.......
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/205777
I wonder what type of conversation prompted his confession to his father... if the father suspected something was amiss, or if the son just blurted it out, out of the blue.
In the press conference, they said the Krieder family wants to thank the detectives and the police force for their compassion towards the Kreider family. The Krieder family will definitly be treated with compassion, just as the Amish school shooters family was treated with compassion.
Such a tragedy for both families. So many lives lost.
In the press conference, they said the Krieder family wants to thank the detectives and the police force for their compassion towards the Kreider family. The Krieder family will definitly be treated with compassion, just as the Amish school shooters family was treated with compassion.
Such a tragedy for both families. So many lives lost.
poco
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My friend lives on Meadow Lane - just a few blocks from where this happened. She has been creeped out every since as she lives alone.
IMO, I think the incident just ate at the son until he finally confessed to his father.
IMO, I think the incident just ate at the son until he finally confessed to his father.
While it was not a random killing, something set this kid off. I wonder if the neighbors were in danger from someone that could be set off so easily. What would make him do that?? I wonder if the kid had anger management issues, poor impulse control, things that former teachers should've caught. A normal kid does not do what this kid did. It is so scary to think someone like this can slip through our lives, and nobody see what he could be capable of.
My heart goes out to his parents.
I hope your friend feels more secure now. The police are still telling everyone to be vigilant.. lock doors, keep outside lights on, as always.
poco
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In this day and age, it is quite unfortunate that we have to be so vigilant about keeping everything locked. I, however, am very negligent about this, while my 6'3" 300 lb husband is very anal about locking all the doors, especially at night, turning on outside lights, and he even keeps a baseball bat on hand by the bed.
luthersmama
Well-Known Member
We don't know that. Although the father surely had a hand in it, it is possible that the police had Alec in their sights and had talked to the parents. There may be alot we don't know. Like "Columbo"...."Mr. Kreider..there's just one little thing bothering me...."
southcitymom
Well-Known Member
Apparently the teenage killer and his teenage victim were very good friends. I wonder if there was a romantic component to this.
luthersmama
Well-Known Member
From the get-go I thought that the killer was a friend of Kevin's who was confused about his feelings for Kevin. Perhaps afraid that what he was feeling was going beyond friendship into territory that he couldn't stand the thought of. Afraid to talk to anyone about it.
nanandjim
Former Member
Maybe, something did happen or he made a pass at Kevin and was rejected. This could have embarrassed him and enraged him, too. I'm just speculating, of course. I have no idea why this kid would murder this family.