Mass slaying shocked community 50 years ago
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Today the Sun-Gazette offers the next installment in a weekly history series that tells the stories of those who came before us.)
LOGANTON — When a local family man left his home to go to work on Oct. 23, 1967, none of his co-workers at the Hammermill Paper Co. in Lock Haven could have imagined that under his coat he was armed with a .45 automatic, a .38 revolver and a grudge that would remain a mystery even after his death.
Leo Held was a father of four, a loving husband to Alda Brungard Held, an active member of his church and a volunteer at the local fire station, according to a Williamsport Sun-Gazette article on the day 50 years ago that Held killed six people and wounded six more.
Held had worked for 19 years as a laboratory technician at the Hammermill Paper Co., just one of the scenes in a string of methodical killings he carried out, according to an Oct. 24, 1967, report in the Sun-Gazette.
It was called the worst mass slaying of 1967 in the United States.
Alda Held never knew why her husband shot 12 people, all friends, co-workers and neighbors. As far as she knew, there was nothing special about that Monday morning as they washed clothes together before splitting ways to go to work, she told The Lock Haven Express in a Nov. 4, 1967, article.
Held drove 17 miles from his home in Loganton to Lock Haven, where he parked his car and walked through the front door of his place of work. Held’s boss, Carmen H. Edwards, 62, was his first victim. Held shot Edwards at the doorway leading into the engine room from behind.
Coroner R. LeRoy Bryerton’s final report on the killings indicated Edwards was killed by “one shot in the heart.” The other five individuals shot by Held were pierced by more than one bullet.
Held then proceeded up to the second-floor laboratory where he shot and killed Elmer E. Weaver, 37; Allen E. Barrett Jr., 44, and Richard Davenport, 32. He also wounded Richard H. Carter, 40, and James Allen, 47, there.
While leaving the lab, Held shot and wounded David Overdorf, 27, and continued into the main office, where he killed Donald W. Walden, 31. On his way back out of the office, Held shot and wounded Woodrow Stultz, 46, before leaving through the stock preparation room.
Held had such a calm and calculated demeanor during the shootings that a co-worker reportedly walked right past Held as he left the building.
After killing five co-workers and injuring four others, Held drove to the nearby Lock Haven Airport office. There he shot six times at Geraldine Ramm, with whom he had shared a carpool until shortly before the slayings, and hit her twice.
Lock Haven police reportedly said Held did not speak to any of his victims before shooting and that “he maintained the same gait” walking through the offices.
From Lock Haven, Held drove back to Loganton and went to the back of the home of Donna and Floyd Quiggle, his neighbors. The Quiggles had left their back door open that morning and Held entered through it, barged into their room and shot both.
Donna Quiggle, 26, survived. Her husband didn’t. Their daughter, Joan, hid beneath a bed in her bedroom.
Though Donna survived, a bullet pierced her spine, leaving her immobilized from the shoulders down. She died on Oct. 13, 1972, from complications related to her injuries.
Held stole weapons and ammunition from the Quiggles before returning to his house, where police encountered him coming out of a side door.
“Held fired a shot at me and I returned the fire,” Lock Haven Police Chief Domer Orndorf told the Sun-Gazette at the time. Also responding there were state police, with Sgt. Joseph C. Hefferon shouting to Held: “This is the state police, throw down your rifle.”
Held reportedly replied: “Come over and get it.”
A gun battle ensued, during which Held was shot four times and taken into custody. But he never would see a trial for his crimes.
Held died in the Lock Haven Hospital at 6 a.m. Oct. 25 before he could be questioned.
Police speculated that Held may have felt persecuted by those around him, and that a disagreement among riders in his carpool could have been one of the reasons for the killing spree. Several of his victims had been members of the carpool, according to news reports of the day.
Police also told reporters that some of his co-workers had been in positions of power and were reported to have “teased” him, which may have been tied to the shootings. But with every possible lead the police found, it became even clearer that Held had stepped out of his car that day knowing whom he wanted dead.
In all cases, Held was “shooting to kill,” and he knew who he was gunning for, Clinton County’s district attorney told the media, noting that there was no known written list of victims. But there may have been one more intended victim, as The Express quoted a doctor in the hospital to whom Held allegedly said hours before he died: “I have one more to go.”
While the events of that day were heavily reported on by numerous media outlets, and hundreds of police hours went into the case, no one was ever able to understand the events that led to Held’s killing spree.
With his death from the four bullet wounds that it took to stop his rampage, Loganton would never get closure as to why six members of the small community lost their lives that day.