Caught in the Act Read online

  “If you make any noise, I’ll kill you.”

  Shea wanted to scream but couldn’t. The man’s hand was so big that it covered almost her entire face, pressed so tightly against her mouth and nose that she could not breathe. Shea began to panic.

  She was a swimmer and had very strong legs, and when she kicked them out, it caused the headboard to knock against the wall between the two bedrooms . . .

  I’ve always been a heavy sleeper, but this woke me up. I could hear soft whimpering and a strange sound of movement coming from the guest room where Shea was sleeping. In my mind, the combined noises could only have been our fifteen-year-old daughter in the throes of some bad dream. Something told me to go check on her anyway, having no idea what real nightmare was awaiting.

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  CAUGHT IN THE ACT

  A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the authors

  PRINTING HISTORY

  Berkley mass-market edition / March 2011

  Copyright © 2011 by Jeannie McDonough and Paul Lonardo.

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  This book is dedicated to my daughter, Shea McDonough, who by the grace of God is still with us. Her beauty lies not only in the resiliency of her spirit, but also in the strength of her character. Throughout this tumultuous journey, she has remained true to herself and has not allowed the negativity of the past events to alter her perspective toward life. Wherever her path may lead, may angels continue to watch over her.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 - “WHO ARE YOU?”

  Chapter 2 - DESTINY

  Chapter 3 - HIGHWAY OF DEATH

  Chapter 4 - MURDER ON MAIN STREET

  Chapter 5 - UNSUSPECTING

  Chapter 6 - HUNTING HUMANS

  Chapter 7 - THE WRONG ROAD

  Chapter 8 - UNMASKING A KILLER

  Chapter 9 - A TALE OF TWO POLICE DEPARTMENTS

  Chapter 10 - ADAM LEROY LANE

  Chapter 11 - CHILLING CONFESSION

  Chapter 12 - TRUCK-STOP PERIL

  Chapter 13 - INSTANT CELEBRITY

  Chapter 14 - PRIME SUSPECT

  Chapter 15 - SERIAL KILLER?

  Chapter 16 - MOVING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK

  Chapter 17 - LAST STOP: PRISON

  Chapter 18 - CUSTODY BATTLE

  Chapter 19 - LOST INNOCENCE

  Chapter 20 - SPRING FORWARD

  Chapter 21 - ABSOLUTION

  Chapter 22 - A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

  Chapter 23 - SENTENCING A MONSTER

  Chapter 24 - COMING TOGETHER

  Chapter 25 - NUMBERS GAME

  Chapter 26 - A FRIEND IN PENNSYLVANIA

  Chapter 27 - TRANSITION TO TRIAL

  Chapter 28 - LIFE

  Afterword

  Photographs

  Acknowledgments

  This book is an account of the facts of what happened when my family came face-to-face with a serial killer intent on hurting our daughter. I began writing about my family’s encounter with Adam Leroy Lane as a way to express my thoughts, fears and concerns throughout this continuing journey—an outlet for my frustrations, not only relating to the initial experience, but also to our attacker’s lengthy progression through our system of justice. This unexpected test of inner strength and character has provided me clarity of spirit, which has proven to be as equally life-altering as the attack itself, and I hope that this account might benefit others.

  Life can change in an instant, for better or for worse, and when that instant comes, there’s nothing you can do about it. You don’t need to be religious to appreciate life as the gift that it is, but when you’ve had a brush with death, you no longer take anything for granted. If I could go back in time and alter the events of July 30, 2007, I would do anything to spare Shea and my family from that life-changing experience. However, I also would not have wished it on any other family, and ultimately, all things considered, things turned out as best as anyone could hope. In that sense, I have learned to embrace what happened and the wonderful people I have come to know as a consequence. It has solidified my belief that Adam Leroy Lane was sent to our house by a higher power with the knowledge that we would somehow have the fortitude to stop him. Whether that fortitude was aided in some way by help from above or dumb luck is of secondary concern.

  There are many people I would like to recognize as having a major impact on my decision to write this book. First of all, I want to acknowledge the two beautiful women whose lives were taken from them by the hands of an angry, thoughtless and brutal killer. Darlene Ewalt and Monica Massaro were sadistically struck down in the prime of their lives. They will always be remembered by our family, and their spirit will live on in all of us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family members and friends, who have suffered such tragic and senseless losses.

  It is equally important for me to thank the various law enforcement agencies and personnel who have influenced the investigation, prosecution and imprisonment of Adam Leroy Lane. I want to acknowledge the following individuals: Chelmsford Police Chief James Murphy, Deputy Chief Scott Ubele, Officer Robert Murphy, Sergeant F
rank Goode, Officer Bruce Darwin, Detective George Tyros and his wife, Detective Rebecca Tyros, Detective-Sergeant Todd Ahern and Detective Jeff Blodgett. To be commended as well are the members of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office: Assistant District Attorney Kerry Ahern, Assistant District Attorney Tom O’Reilly, District Attorney Gerry Leone and our victim advocate, Dora Quiroz. A special thanks goes to our close friend Mike Champagne for providing tremendous support to our family during the trial proceedings.

  Vitally important as well were all of the detectives within the New Jersey State Police Department who played an instrumental role in the Massaro investigation. Their support and commitment will always be appreciated. In particular, Detective-Sergeants Geoffrey Noble, Jeff Kronenfeld and James Kiernan, as well as Detectives Justin Blackwell, Timothy Coyle, Nicholas Oriolo and Tom McEnroe. Also, Sergeant Kevin Burd and Lieutenant Jeff Farneski, of the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, and Margaret Paul, the forensic scientist from the New Jersey State Police Lab who went above and beyond in her efforts to link Adam Lane to the case forensically. There are numerous other professionals in various law enforcement agencies who have worked on the Massaro and Ewalt cases, as well as other potential cases that Adam Leroy Lane may yet be linked to. Our thanks go out to all of them as well.

  Special recognition should also be given to Jennifer Storm, the Ewalt family’s victim advocate. Her assistance and support leading up to and throughout Adam Leroy Lane’s hearing was an enormous help to me. Her expertise and guidance enabled me to report on aspects of the proceedings that I would not have otherwise been able to recount.

  I would like to further express a heartfelt appreciation to our family, friends and the entire Chelmsford community. There were countless calls, cards, flowers and food that renewed our belief in the goodness of the human spirit. We never could have anticipated the friendships that would be strengthened and formed in the wake of such turmoil. In the days following this ordeal, we received an overwhelming show of support and compassion, and our family will always remember the kindness shown by so many people. I also want to recognize Principal Allen Thomas, who reached out to us on behalf of Chelmsford High School with an expression of concern and commitment to our daughter’s adjustment following the trauma of the attack. Without the support of Dan Rosa, the school psychologist, and Christine Lima, Shea’s guidance counselor, I am certain that Shea’s future prospects would not be as bright. The level of personal concern they demonstrated and their professional input have been invaluable.

  I would also like to thank my friend Piotr Chadzynski for providing support and encouragement to me in the final writing stages of this book. A special thank-you to my coauthor, Paul Lonardo, for taking on this project. Paul’s expertise, guidance and craftsmanship have spun my ramblings into a cohesive piece of writing. To our agent, Linda Konner, thank you for believing in our ability to bring this story to script and helping us every step of the way. Above all, I would like to express my gratitude to our editor at Berkley Publishing, Shannon Jamieson Vazquez. She stuck with us through this emotional roller-coaster ride with her unwavering patience and continual interest. She had a magical way of taking what was written and polishing it with such precision that the significance of the words became clearer even to me.

  Of paramount significance as well is the acknowledgment of our son, Ryan. I know that he has questioned himself many times about what role his absence that night may have played, but it will always be my conviction that his absence very likely may be the reason we all survived. Ryan will never fully comprehend how thankful I am that everything happened exactly the way it did.

  Most important, I must pay tribute to my husband, Kevin. Without a doubt, I wouldn’t have been able to write this if it weren’t for him. His encouragement, support and enthusiasm with regard to my writing have been incredible. Certainly, none of this would have been possible if he hadn’t done what he did that night. A local news reporter once described my husband as being a “silent hero.” I couldn’t have put it more aptly, and I thank God every day for the many blessings he has brought to my life.

  —Jeannie McDonough

  There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is a miracle.

  —ALBERT EINSTEIN

  Prologue

  With the kids getting older, it was more difficult to spend time together as a family. Besides the holidays, July was the one time of the year that everyone put aside his or her individual plans and shared one another’s company. That year, 2007, it began on the Fourth of July, which we celebrated in Rockport, Massachusetts, a quaint seaside community on the North Shore. With Independence Day falling in the middle of the week, on a Wednesday, it was only a brief diversion from our workaday worlds. There was nothing particularly remarkable about the trip, but it was a pleasurable break from the ordinary, even if the kids never seemed to stop texting their friends and Kevin talked about the work he had to do the next day. The best part was we were all in the same place with close family, and that place was on the beach on a beautiful summer day, capped off by an evening fireworks display. What was not to love about that?

  So everyone was busy making other plans, including myself, but isn’t that when the true experiences of life are supposed to occur, at least according to John Lennon? We were all assuming, anyway, that we would be getting back to our daily routines and the imagined futures we had planned. But something very unexpected was out there, and it was coming our way. All the suntan lotion and fruity umbrella drinks could not keep it away . . .

  Chapter 1

  “WHO ARE YOU?”

  Friday, July 13, 2007

  Darlene Ewalt was sitting on the back porch of her home at 2:00 a.m., talking on the phone with her friend Chet Gerhart about the cruise that she was going on with Chet and his wife, Pat, scheduled to set sail in October. The Gerharts had purchased four tickets to paradise, a Caribbean family vacation they had originally expected to take with their two teenage sons. However, the boys had misbehaved, so as punishment, their parents decided to leave them behind, making two tickets available. Over dinner just a night earlier, the Gerharts offered the tickets to their best friends, Todd and Darlene Ewalt. Darlene jumped at the opportunity.

  Darlene had married young and raised two children, and for many years there had not been a lot of time for her. But now, at only forty-two, there was still plenty of life remaining and experiences that awaited. For far too long her travel destinations had been limited to the supermarkets and football fields around the small Pennsylvania town where she lived. She could only dream of far-off adventure and exotic places, and this was her opportunity to make her fantasy a reality. The cruise could mark the beginning of a new chapter in her life, and bring her closer to the man she married and still loved.

  Todd Ewalt was a carpenter by trade, but he was also a dedicated youth football coach. That was how the Ewalts came to know the Gerharts, when Todd had coached their kids. But the upcoming cruise was in the fall, and so was the football season; Todd couldn’t do both. He had a difficult choice to make.

  Darlene knew how much her husband enjoyed working with the kids, but she was shocked when he politely declined the Gerharts’ offer, opting to stay behind. Todd wasn’t comfortable missing a week of football in the middle of the season. They both knew he wasn’t going to change his mind, so there was no point in arguing about it. But Darlene was just as determined to go on the cruise, with or without her husband. Todd knew how much the trip meant to his wife, so he gave her his blessing to set sail without him. Despite making plans to spend time apart, neither Todd nor Darlene harbored any bitterness or animosity toward one another for their independent decisions. So it was decided that Darlene would join the Gerharts on the Caribbean getaway in October while Todd stayed home and coached football.

  The cruise was all that Darlene could think or talk about the next day. There were several girlfriends who were considering coming with her in To
dd’s place. Which one of them could get the time off of work, temporarily disengage themselves from family and other obligations, and come up with the money in time to reimburse the Gerharts for the all-inclusive ticket were all factors in this Caribbean lottery.

  As day turned to night, Darlene was on the phone with Chet, excitedly going over every detail of the trip. Having never been on a cruise ship, she wanted to know everything, from the island ports where the ocean liner would be docking to what sort of clothes she should bring and how much money she needed to take with her.

  Around 10:00 p.m., Todd opened the back door and stuck his head outside. Seeing his wife on the patio with the phone to her ear, he said, “Hey, I’m going to bed.”

  “Okay,” Darlene responded. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

  “Yeah, right,” Todd said with a slight rising of his eyebrows before ducking back inside the house. He knew better. His wife could talk for hours when she got going, so he wasn’t about to wait up. He went upstairs to their bedroom while she stayed outside on the phone with Chet.

  Four hours later, Darlene was still on the patio talking with Chet. Her continued excitement about the trip made the lateness of the hour seem inconsequential. It was almost as if she had already put herself on the cruise ship as it moved silently through the dark waters of the Caribbean Sea. In actuality, she was only a few feet away from the sliding-glass door and the cool air-conditioned interior of her house, but she didn’t want to go inside. The sticky summer night helped induce the sensation that she was already in the Caribbean, where she wanted to be. It was still months away, but she couldn’t get there soon enough.