GUILTY PA - Jonathan 'Jonnie' Moyer, 17, Brownstown, 19 March 2003

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/22/2005 | Of trust, tryst and betrayal

Having spent his drift-along life in this Lancaster County (PA) village, Jonnie Moyer was hard to miss.

Six feet tall, with tangled blond braids and a happy-go-lucky grin, the 17-year-old dropout was a fixture on the quiet streets, playing Hacky Sack and smoking cigarettes outside the Turkey Hill store. When he was on the outs with his father, as he usually was, he slept by the Conestoga Creek or on the roof of the Methodist church.

In March 2003, Moyer vanished, and without a word.

Soon after, a revolting stench began wafting from the Main Street bungalow shared by two of his best friends, Felina Billetdeaux and Steva Hagelgans.

Neither development went unnoted in Brownstown, a square-mile speck of quaint homes, 900 residents, a traffic light, a diner and a rumor mill. Some people mentioned Moyer's disappearance to police. Some complained about the smell. Some suspected a connection.

Yet no missing-person report was filed, not even by his family. No investigation was launched. For two years, no one tried to find Jonnie Moyer...

 

[PrayersForMaura]

wow, this story sounds unbelievable!! I want to read the link you posted but I don't want to subscribe... is there another place to read this story?

Thanks.
Poor Jonnie

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

wow, this story sounds unbelievable!! I want to read the link you posted but I don't want to subscribe... is there another place to read this story?

Thanks.
Poor Jonnie

Go to bugmenot.com, and copy and paste the URL of the newspaper page into the box. When you click submit, it will give you a username and a password to use to be able to read the article.

 

[Rachael]

I read this in the newspaper yesterday. How sad! His own family didn't even care that they hadn't heard from him in two years. Those girls were pretty damn sick to leave his body in their closet for 6 weeks.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I read this in the newspaper yesterday. How sad! His own family didn't even care that they hadn't heard from him in two years. Those girls were pretty damn sick to leave his body in their closet for 6 weeks.

The whole thing is one of the most bizarre things I've heard in a very long time. And what's really tragic is that now that this story has broken, there is STILL virtually no news about it on the Internet! The poor kid seems like he had a terrible life, and no one paid him any positive attention. Now even in death, it seems that nobody thinks about him.

P.S. I posted this today after reading it in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Go to bugmenot.com, and copy and paste the URL of the newspaper page into the box. When you click submit, it will give you a username and a password to use to be able to read the article.

THAT url is awesome. bugmenot.com. Thanks a ton.
I'm off to read...

 

[1986]

One visit by the police chief might have ended the two year mystery. One visit that showed concern for a boy he was familiar with and was being asked about. One visit from his busy day that starts with breakfast in a diner. I hope the good folks of this town see their chief through the eyes of Jonnie.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

THAT url is awesome. bugmenot.com. Thanks a ton.
I'm off to read...

You're welcome but I actually learned about it from Jeana. In any case, it's worked with every site I've tried, (dozens & dozens), with the exception of one. And when that happens, they give you the option to create one for the site.

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

One visit by the police chief might have ended the two year mystery. One visit that showed concern for a boy he was familiar with and was being asked about. One visit from his busy day that starts with breakfast in a diner. I hope the good folks of this town see their chief through the eyes of Jonnie.

Very well put. I couldn't agree more.

 

[PrayersForMaura]

The whole thing is one of the most bizarre things I've heard in a very long time. And what's really tragic is that now that this story has broken, there is STILL virtually no news about it on the Internet! The poor kid seems like he had a terrible life, and no one paid him any positive attention. Now even in death, it seems that nobody thinks about him.

P.S. I posted this today after reading it in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

That story is terrible! How could that girl do such a horrible thing?? Wow, what a messed up bunch of people. And very sad that no one cared enough to really look for Jonnie.

 

[Rachael]

The whole thing is one of the most bizarre things I've heard in a very long time. And what's really tragic is that now that this story has broken, there is STILL virtually no news about it on the Internet! The poor kid seems like he had a terrible life, and no one paid him any positive attention. Now even in death, it seems that nobody thinks about him.

P.S. I posted this today after reading it in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

I know it is very sad. The story in the Inquirer said his mother lived in a different town and his father basically kicked him out of the house. He had to sleep outside at times even on the roof of the local church. I guess they are not going to charge the one girl (the mother of his child) with anything even though she helped dispose of his body.

 

[SewingDeb]

Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/22/2005 | Of trust, tryst and betrayal

Having spent his drift-along life in this Lancaster County (PA) village, Jonnie Moyer was hard to miss.

Six feet tall, with tangled blond braids and a happy-go-lucky grin, the 17-year-old dropout was a fixture on the quiet streets, playing Hacky Sack and smoking cigarettes outside the Turkey Hill store. When he was on the outs with his father, as he usually was, he slept by the Conestoga Creek or on the roof of the Methodist church.

In March 2003, Moyer vanished, and without a word.

Soon after, a revolting stench began wafting from the Main Street bungalow shared by two of his best friends, Felina Billetdeaux and Steva Hagelgans.

Neither development went unnoted in Brownstown, a square-mile speck of quaint homes, 900 residents, a traffic light, a diner and a rumor mill. Some people mentioned Moyer's disappearance to police. Some complained about the smell. Some suspected a connection.

Yet no missing-person report was filed, not even by his family. No investigation was launched. For two years, no one tried to find Jonnie Moyer...

This is so sad.

 

[1986]

His father kicked him out at 17 yrs old. That guy needs to be charged with neglect and contributing to his death. Of course he probably won't. Seems no one in that town cared.

 

[KatherineQ]

God help the motherless child. There is no help in this world, for a child without a mother. And his mother left him.

And then secondarily, sounds like he kept fleeing his father and stepmother's house. He was like a beach bum kind of guy, a free spirit.

Had that sicko woman not beaten him to death with baseball bat, he'd probably be running a surf shop or a hot dog cart somewhere now.

 

[Sheromom]

His father kicked him out at 17 yrs old. That guy needs to be charged with neglect and contributing to his death. Of course he probably won't. Seems no one in that town cared.

Exactly! How can someone NOT love their child? It is beyond me to understand. No matter what my kids have done or how angry I have been at them, that love never left my heart for a second since their birth. Before their birth. I used to read to them before they were even born. I just don't get it.

 

[sharon25]

I wonder how many "moyer"s there are in lancaster county?
the reason I ask is that my daughters father is a "moyer".
and they happen to live in lancaster county.
and his family is all messed up.
I am not close to them at all,
and don't really speak to her father.

this poor child, to go missing and have no
one report it.

doesn't give a lot of hope to the
other unidentified bodies out there..

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I guess they are not going to charge the one girl (the mother of his child) with anything even though she helped dispose of his body.

I think that she should also be charged except then her little one is left with no parents. Not the way Jonnie's child should have to live considering what he had to live like. Did you see her picture - the little girl? She looks just like him.

 

[1986]

Exactly! How can someone NOT love their child? It is beyond me to understand. No matter what my kids have done or how angry I have been at them, that love never left my heart for a second since their birth. Before their birth. I used to read to them before they were even born. I just don't get it.

I'm the same way. I sang and read to my babies before they were born. Their favorite stories are about how their Daddy and I planned and looked forward to their births. I even show them pics I have of different points in my pregnancies. They know that they was wanted and loved even before they were born. I can't imagine a person growing up knowing they are not wanted. It just breaks my heart. There was a family out that they would have loved to have raised this boy as their own. Why couldn't his parents have given him up instead of throwing him away? This is his parents' fault.

 

[Rachael]

I think that she should also be charged except then her little one is left with no parents. Not the way Jonnie's child should have to live considering what he had to live like. Did you see her picture - the little girl? She looks just like him.

Yes she does and I agree with what you are saying. I just hope the child has a better life than Jonnie did. His parents were divorced/not together (not sure if they were ever married) and it just seems like nobody wanted him. Poor guy!

 

[OriginalJerseyGirl]

I can't imagine a person growing up knowing they are not wanted. It just breaks my heart.

And I get the feeling that it was probably a life-long thing. This poor guy probably lived his whole life just hanging out wherever he was allowed. A tragedy from start to finish. I hope that his daughter will grow up to do amazing things.