PA PA - Ed, 30, & Stephanie Hunsberger, 24, King of Prussia, 25 Feb 1978

[Houston Mom]

Onfortuneswheel, did they give Kimberly's height, weight or eye color?

 

[rascal32]

From that photo, I can definitely see that she's not Buckskin Girl. Her temples are too wide with respect to her eyes.

I have to agree. I'm disappointed because I thought the possibility was good. But now that I see this pic, I agree with you


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[Ozoner]

The way I read it in the article I posted recently, Stephanie's father was already in jail when the informant reported seeing her last.
If she turns out to be BG or another JD (should her prints or DNA get compared to any UPs) we would know for sure if it were him or if she and Ed just took off, like her father believed.

I don't think he believed they took off; I think he knew exactly what happened to them. I think he killed them and buried them somewhere, possibly because they knew about his other illegal activities. I also think he killed Susan Reinert and her children. Some people are surprised that a high school principal would do those things, but I don't find it surprising at all. A principal is a big fish in a small pond, which is why school administration attracts narcissits/sociopaths. Narcissistic people like being the center of attention and having authority over people.
I did read the comments about the Hunsbergers being seen after Smith went to prison, but I think the informant was either lying or mistaken about whom he saw or when he saw them.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

Onfortuneswheel, did they give Kimberly's height, weight or eye color?

Kimberly?

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

I don't think he believed they took off; I think he knew exactly what happened to them. I think he killed them and buried them somewhere, possibly because they knew about his other illegal activities. I also think he killed Susan Reinert and her children. Some people are surprised that a high school principal would do those things, but I don't find it surprising at all. A principal is a big fish in a small pond, which is why school administration attracts narcissits/sociopaths. Narcissistic people like being the center of attention and having authority over people.
I did read the comments about the Hunsbergers being seen after Smith went to prison, but I think the informant was either lying or mistaken about whom he saw or when he saw them.

Jay Smith was an odd guy, for sure, but I don't think he was involved at all with what happened to Susan Reinert. Reading through the case, I think it was entirely Bill Bradfield and one or more of his groupies.

I've been working on flushing out a timeline for this event, however, it is still a work in progress. Make of it what you will. I personally feel like LE let Joanne Aitken go too easily. Her alibi for the weekend was that she was wandering around Philadelphia looking at the architecture.

1978 October – Susan Reinert’s mother dies leaving $30,000 cash, $200,000 property, and $1,500 ring

1978 October – Bill Bradfield tells Sue Myers and friend Vince Valaitis that he had to make an urgent trip to Annapolis. His "friend" Joanne Aitken had a blue Volkswagen Beetle for sale and he thought he ought to buy it. Later that month, for the first time, Bradfield starts spreading rumors that Jay Smith intended to kill a number of school officials including Reinert.

1978 November – Bradfield suddenly recalls in a dream that he saw Jay Smith in Ocean City, NJ during the time of the St. David’s theft that Smith was on trial for. He offers to testify in Smith's defense.

1978 November – Bradfield begins telling other members of his group, Chris Pappas and Vince Valaitis, that Jay Smith plans to kill Reinert because she had broken off an affair with him and she knew certain things about his illegal activities

1978 December – Bradfield traveled with Sue Myers and Vince Valaitis to Florida; Bradfield tells Valatis that the purpose of the trip was to establish his whereabouts in the event Smith killed Reinert over the Christmas holiday (Bradfield would repeat this concern continually over the next months any time he left Pennsylvania)

1978 December 25 – Reinert writes to a friend that her and Bradfield are thinking of getting married in England in summer 1979

1979 January – Patrick Gallagher, brother of Reinert, writes to her advising her that he was not interested in joining the her and Bradfield in a financial investment. ''He is the kind of character I admire to read about in books," Gallagher wrote, "but who I am frightened to deal with in real life." Susan Reinert had made numerous loans to Bradfield at this point (about $25,000) which he had Sue Myers place in a safety deposit box at a local bank.

1979 March – Reinert obtains $250k life insurance policy with a $200k accidental death rider

1979 May – Bradfield testifies as an alibi witness at Smith's theft trial but his testimony is stricken from the record as being quesetionable

1979 May 4 – Reinert changes will to make Bradfield beneficiary

1979 May 19 – Joanne Aitken checks into the Congress Hotel in Philadelphia, PA

1979 June 8 – Reinert obtains a 1 year $100k life insurance policy

1979 June 19 – Joanne Aitken and Bradfield travel to Cape May, NJ to secure lodgings at the Heirloom Boarding House for Bradfield, Pappas, Valaitis, and Myers the next weekend

1979 June 20 – Reinert obtains a 1 year $150k life insurance policy

1979 June 22 –

• Morning – Chris Pappas receives telephone instructions to go to a safe deposit box to withdraw enough money to buy Bradfield a round-trip plane ticket to New Mexico and also provide him with some walk-around money for a few weeks. He drives to the bank and takes about $1,100 from the total, put $500 of it in an envelope, and dropped it off with Sue Myers

• Morning – Pappas sees Bradfield’s car in Valley Forge Park on his way back home and stops to talk. Bradfield says he is delayed for a meeting with Jay Smith. Pappas lets Bradfield know he picked up the money. Bradfield instructs Pappas to purchase plane tickets to Albuquerque for them both on the Monday night flight. Tells Pappas that he and Sue will stop by later that night to pick him up and drive to Cape May for the weekend.

• Afternoon – Pappas buys tickets to Albuquerque. Goes home, packs, and has dinner. Then goes to visit friend Jenny.

• Afternoon – Florence Reinert speaks on the phone with Susan Reinert. Susan intended to take the children with her to Allentown the next morning to a Parents Without Partners workshop. Since gasoline was still being rationed she wanted John Reinert’s opinion as to whether her Plymouth Horizon could go there and back on a tank of gas. John Reinert told her it would, as long as they didn't take any side trips. Susan discussed plans for Michael to be baptized on Wednesday at the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge. She was a Unitarian, but said that she was happy to please the Reinerts’ by having the boy christened in the Episcopal faith. On Monday Susan intended to deliver Michael to his grandparents where he would stay most of the week while Karen visited with her father Ken and went to a gymnastics camp. Susan then planned to take both children to a music fair at Valley Forge, and conduct a weekend garage sale with her neighbor the following Saturday.

• 3:30PM – Bradfield picks up one of his lovers, Wendy Ziegler and they drive straight to a motel on Route 30 where they cuddle but there is no sex. Bradfield asks Ziegler to go by his bank and do a transaction. He shows her a pile of money and some envelopes, and counted $4,000 in cash. She was told that he needed her to withdraw some more money.

• 5:30PM – Valaitis gets off from his summer job working at he and Bradfield's failing craft store, comes home to shower and pack. (Valaitis lives in apartment below Bradfield and Myers)

• Evening – Michael Reinert supposed to play in a father-son Softball game with the cub scouts at church about half mile from Susan Reinert’s home. Ken Reinert arrives at the church with his second wife Lynn just before Susan shows up with Karen and Michael. Michael is wearing a Phillies baseball shirt with pinstripes. Ken doesn't get a chance to talk to Susan or Karen – Susan hurriedly drives off as soon as Michael leaves the car. The game lasts only a few innings when unexpected thunder interrupted and everyone sought shelter in the church. Susan showed up dressed in a white knit blouse with multicolored stripes and blue jeans. This confused Ken since the agreement was that he was supposed to take Michael home after the game. Susan called to Michael who ran to the back of the church hall and they walked out together. Ken left with his wife.

• 6:30PM – Bradfield and Ziegler check out of their hotel. Bradfield drives to the wrong bank because he'd never been to the safe deposit box. Calls Chris Pappas to get the name of the right bank.

• 7:30PM – Bradfield and Ziegler arrive at the Southeast National Bank. Bradfield tells Ziegler that the safety deposit box at the bank contained money he'd saved for many years, and if Jay Smith killed Susan Reinert in the next few days his assets might be frozen because his name was in Susan Reinert's will. He asked Ziegler to withdraw all money in account and bring it to the car. When she asked why he had so much money in a safe deposit box instead of an interest-bearing account he said it had to do with a tax shelter. Ziegler withdrew the money and at Bradfield's request took the money to her home and stashed it where her parents wouldn't find it. Before he left, Bradfield told Ziegler that due to his being in a state of utter exhaustion he was going to the shore for the weekend with Sue Myers, Vince Valaitis, and Chris Pappas to recuperate before summer school. He also said that he needed to be out of the area in case Jay Smith killed Susan Reinert so he would not get blamed because of his being in the will. Bradfield gave Ziegler a copy of Ezra Pound's book on Confucius. On pages 12 and 13 he'd numbered each line. The letter beside the number indicated a letter in a cipher and code he'd worked out. He told Ziegler that all future correspondence between them might have to be coded and decoded by Confucius.

• 8:00PM – Valaitis joined Sue Myers for dinner. They were joined by Martin Bradfield (Bill's son) and his girlfriend Donna at 8. They had dinner and chatted while waiting for Bill. After awhile Valaitis invited everyone downstairs to watch a movie on his VCR. Sue Myers got sleepy before the movie reached the scary part and went to bed.

• 8:30PM – Chris Pappas and friend Jenny were watching I, Claudius when a car pulled up in front of Jenny’s house. Pappas sees it’s Bradfield's blue VW Beetle dropping off Ziegler. Ziegler comes in the house and says she needs to talk to Jenny alone. After they returned to the living room, Ziegler says they had to go out on some business. Pappas said okay and went home to finish watching the TV show.

• Evening – President of the regional council of Parents Without Partners receives a call from Susan Reinert who said, "Something's come up. Something personal and I don't want to talk about it. Could you have someone cover for me at the Saturday workshop in Allentown?"

• 8:45PM – Ken Reinert receives a call at home from Michael who tells his father that he was sorry for leaving without an explanation, but that he had to get home to "scrub his floor" because they were going away. Ken asks Michael where he’s going. He can hear Micahel call to Susan, "Mom, Dad wants to know where I'm going." Ken hears Susan say, "Well, why don't you tell him you're going bowling with Parents without Partners."

• 9:30PM – Susan and children last seen driving away from Ardmore, PA home by her neighbors who were concerned to see her driving into a storm

• 11:15PM – Martin Bradfield and his girlfriend, Donna, are about to go home when Bradfield knocks on Valaitis’s door. Bradfield is wearing a blue parka with big pockets. Bradfield woke Myers upstairs and asked Valaitis to load luggage and gas into VW Bug

1979 June 23 –

• 12:01AM – Bradfield, Myers, and Valaitis pick up Chris Pappas. When Myers asked Bradfield where he had been all evening he said that he'd gone to visit his ex-wife Muriel to say good-bye before leaving for summer school in Albuquerque, but that she wasn't home. He said he'd waited around for a few hours but finally gave up and left her a note. Pappas drives the VW Bug to Cape May.

• 3:30AM – Group arrives in Cape May, NJ and go to restaurant for snack

• 5:00AM – Group arrives at the Heirloom Apartments but find that their rooms had been occupied and the room locked. They slept in the hallway until the proprietor found them at 7AM

Everyone in the Group claims that they stayed at Cape May the entire weekend until Bradfield and Pappas left on Monday for Albuquerque. However...

• 6:18PM – A receipt from a Phoenixville supermarket stamped at 6:18 p.m. on June 23, 1979 was given to police by Sue Myers, who stated she found the receipt in the VW Bug, more than a year after the killings (A state trooper testified that the prosecution had lost the receipt and what Jay Smith's defense claimed was "a critical document")

 

[Ozoner]

OK, Onfortuneswheel, you've convinced me. I can buy that Bradfield & Co. killed Susan Reinert & her children.

Unless Stephanie & Ed turn up alive, though, I still llike Smith for their disappearance.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

OK, Onfortuneswheel, you've convinced me. I can buy that Bradfield & Co. killed Susan Reinert & her children.

Unless Stephanie & Ed turn up alive, though, I still llike Smith for their disappearance.

The thing that interests me most about the timeline is that Bradfield stated he went to visit his ex-wife Muriel but she wasn't home. Muriel lived on a property owned by Bradfield in Chester County - Iron Bridge Rd. to be more exact. The area bares a remarkable resemblance to the photo found in Bradfield's cell when he died. I wonder if that is where the Reinert children were brought.

 

[Alleykins]

Wow. If that's where they might be, he'd need more than a shovel to bury any bodies.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

I think Stephanie has been ruled out as Buckskin Jane Doe... Stephanie's NamUs page was updated to show that they have fingerprint records on file. Buckskin Jane Doe's NamUs page was modified today. No Hunsberger, but there is a Stephanie Smith born in 1954 form Pennsylvania listed in the rule outs. I'm thinking this is her.

 

[rascal32]

I think Stephanie has been ruled out as Buckskin Jane Doe... Stephanie's NamUs page was updated to show that they have fingerprint records on file. Buckskin Jane Doe's NamUs page was modified today. No Hunsberger, but there is a Stephanie Smith born in 1954 form Pennsylvania listed in the rule outs. I'm thinking this is her.

I thought she was a good match until I saw some of the newer pictures posted... then I kinda knew it probably wasn't her. Well back to the drawing board!


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[cutter99]

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/joe-owens/index.ssf/2009/05/jay_c_smith_is_dead_while_the.html

Very interesting comment at the bottom of this article by someone claiming to be Smith's niece. She believes he killed his daughter and son-in-law.

 

[cutter99]

Onfortuneswheel- were the pictures above actually taken on the property Bradford's ex-wife was living on that he owned? Were all of those pictures in his cell or just the first?

 

[cutter99]

Went back and read the whole thread here to review and wanted to throw this out there about Susan Reinert and where she was found in Harrisburg, PA. Shortly before she disappeared, Susan had a conversation about the amount of gas in her car and her planned trip to Allentown with her father-in-law John Reinert. Fuel was being rationed, and she was concerned as to whether or not she had enough for the trip. He father-in-law felt she did, but she should be cautious about extra driving. (Got this information from post #45 here by Onfortuneswheel.) Here are just some numbers I pulled up on Mapquest.

Ardmore, PA to Allentown, PA via Route 476 (known at that time as the Northeast Extension)- 56.2 miles one way, 102.4 miles round trip

Ardmore, PA to Cape May, NJ via the Garden State Parkway- 100 miles one way, 200 miles round trip

Cape May, NJ to Harrisburg, PA via Vineland, NJ and PA Turnpike- 189 miles one way

Ardmore, PA to Harrisburg, PA via PA Turnpike- 96.2 miles one way

HUGE difference in distances. If Susan were in Cape May shortly before her death, how and where was the gas obtained to get her car and body to Harrisburg? Does anyone remember what the rules of rationing were then?

I also have a few questions about Ed and Stephanie. How did they meet? How long had they been together? How long had they been addicts? Had they always lived with the Smiths? Does anyone know what became of the Smiths other daughter?

 

[CarlK90245]

Does anyone remember what the rules of rationing were then?

Yes. Drivers were allowed to buy gas on alternating days, depending on whether the last number on their license plate was odd or even. Vanity plates with no numbers were considered odd.

 

[cutter99]

Could you purchase gas for someone else's vehicle or was it based solely on the license plate number?

 

[CarlK90245]

Could you purchase gas for someone else's vehicle or was it based solely on the license plate number?

Strictly by license plate number.

 

[Onfortuneswheel]

Onfortuneswheel- were the pictures above actually taken on the property Bradford's ex-wife was living on that he owned? Were all of those pictures in his cell or just the first?

This is the only picture (that we know of) found in his cell.

Bradfield owned 2 parcels along the road, one of which he sold in 1976. The other was sold in 1983 to the same people who bought the 1976 parcel, both of which they still own (I should probably add a note at this point that this is private property, I do not recommend trying to go for a visit).Iron Bridge Rd. is less than a mile long so I made an assumption that the terrain would be fairly similar along it's length. The photos in my previous post were ones I found online from a land for sale posting. Here are pictures I found of another past for sale property along Iron Bridge:

 

[Roselvr]

Yes. Drivers were allowed to buy gas on alternating days, depending on whether the last number on their license plate was odd or even. Vanity plates with no numbers were considered odd.

I'm reading the rations started late 1978, early 1979. I was working at the family gas station but can't recall which year since I was 13 to 14, working weekends and summers.

Oil Shock of 1978–79
PETROLEUM CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS 1970 - 2000 - Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979 -

The Iranian Revolution, which began in late 1978, resulted in a drop of 3.9 million barrels per day of crude oil production from Iran from 1978 to 1981. World supplies appeared to be tight, although much of this lost production was offset initially by increases in output from other OPEC members, particularly from Iran's Persian Gulf neighbors.(21) In 1980, the Iran-Iraq War began, and many Persian Gulf countries reduced output as well. OPEC crude oil prices increased to unprecedented levels between 1979 and 1981. By 1981, OPEC production declined to 22.8 million barrels per day, 7.0 million barrels per day below its level for 1978.

1979 oil shock meant recession for U.S., depression for autos

On Jan. 16, 1979, the Shah of Iran was overthrown, and the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power. He cut Iran's oil production, which reduced shipments of crude oil to the United States. Gasoline prices soared, and the American economy plunged into a recession. The threat of a gasoline shortage and rationing created long lines at gas stations. It was 1973-74 all over again.

The recession brought double-digit inflation and sent interest rates up to 20 percent. Consumer confidence evaporated. What was a recession for the rest of the nation was a depression for the car industry.

The oil crisis eventually forced the U.S. automakers to resolve their quality and gas mileage problems.

Practically overnight, consumer demand turned from gas-guzzling large cars - Detroit's specialty - to gas-sipping small cars, largely built by Japanese companies.

 

[cutter99]

I am almost finished reading "Echoes in the Darkness" and read that when Susan's car was found in Harrisburg it had a half tank of gas in it.

The pictures of the property on Iron Bridge Rd are typical of properties in that immediate area. There is actually a trail that runs through that area from Valley Forge to Harrisburg, called the Horseshoe Trail. It was designed for hiking and horseback riding. Most of the Horseshoe Trail looks exactly like those pictures. I have ridden parts of it in Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon Counties, and the trail there is very similar to the pictures. It is VERY rocky. So rocky that it would take major excavating equipment to bury a body or bodies.

Jay Smith, at one time, told another inmate that Bradfield did not know where the children were located. I took that to mean that Bradfield himself has not disposed of them, but Smith did. My gut says that he disappeared Stephanie and Ed, and probably did the same with the Reinert children.

So much time has passed that most of the key characters in this sad tale are now in their mid to late sixties, if not even older. I would not be surprised if the one person still alive with any real knowledge of what happened is Joanne Aitken.

 

[Ozoner]

Jay Smith, at one time, told another inmate that Bradfield did not know where the children were located. I took that to mean that Bradfield himself has not disposed of them, but Smith did. My gut says that he disappeared Stephanie and Ed, and probably did the same with the Reinert children.

Can we PLEASE stop using the word disappear as if it were a transitive verb?

Reading that is like hearing people say "we was." It is almost enough to give me an aneurysm.