Exhumation & Solving Two Unsolved Murders in One
Donation protected
We need your help please in solving two unsolved murders in our family. This is a tough thing for me to do as I have never done this before (asking for help and also it will be extremely hard to have a loved one exhumed). Our Family was raised with pride where we did not ask for help. However, I am turning to all of you in the hopes you will help us and our Family.
Our parents were both murdered in the 1970's. The cases are still unsolved after almost 53 years now for our Dad and 50 years for our Mom. We need to get their bodies exhumed and examined by modern forensics to find truth and answers to try to solve these two murders. We need justice and closure. We are trying to raise funds because the Assistant DA, Michael Mancuso, in the Monroe County, PA, DA's office is blocking all investigations to solve their murders.
We are trying to pursue a Go Fund Me Page to reach a goal of $75,000.00 to exhume both our parents’ bodies because the local County Coroner, Thomas Yanac, said "it was necessary since all records about any autopsies for both your mother and father are missing", and he also said "the death certificate on your mother is not consistent with that type of accident". Therefore, we need to have a forensics pathologist start all over and perform autopsies on both our Mom and Dad’s bodies. Also, we need to hire an independent pathologist, hire a private detective to review both cases, uncover evidence, have DNA tests performed, and lawyer fees to pursue justice in these cases.
We have always thought the Pennsylvania State Police were working diligently on these cases. We also tried to find information from others whom we thought could provide any small detail that may have been overlooked. We were never contacted by the PA State Police investigators, so we would periodically contact them only to hear “nothing new and still working on it”. This went on for 52 years while they actually never worked on our parent's cases.
All the True Crime, Murder, and Unsolved Murder/Mystery Programs bring to light the sorrow and emptiness Families feel when a loved one is missing or murdered. Our Family has suffered for over 52 years at the hands of persons unknown who took our Father’s life and then two years later, took our Mother’s life while following a lead on our Dad's murder. We were 13 when we lost our Dad and 15 years old when we lost our Mother. My twin sister and I just turned 66 and are the only two children remaining as our three brothers are all now deceased.
September 8, 1970, was the day our family’s lives were shattered. I and my twin sister, 13 at the time, had three brothers ages 16-Kavin, 15-Johnny, and 12-Timmy. Today, my twin sister and I are the only living survivors left.
John W. Leonard, Sr., a cab driver for Mick’s Taxi service in Cresco PA, was dispatched to Buck Hill Falls Inn to pick up a fare who wanted to go to Mountainhome a few miles away. As our Dad drove up the circular entrance driveway, he was stopped and approached by a man who shot our Dad 5 times in the head, neck, side and back. Our Dad was found slumped over in the front seat of the taxi. The radio microphone was underneath him. The car was in park and the ignition switch in the “ACC” position. Two people drove past the cab and noticed a man standing there who was not our Dad. Although our Dad was well-known and liked by the staff, nothing seemed to be out of place.
From here on is when the entire murder case gets shoved under the carpet!
The person who dispatched the taxi was the owner, Don Mick. Since our Dad failed to answer radio calls, Don Mick went looking for him and found him at the crime scene just 150 feet from the Main entrance to Buck Hill Falls Inn. This was a somewhat secluded area lined with trees and a narrow drive. It was the end of the Labor Day weekend, and no one heard the shots or perhaps thought they might have been firecrackers in the distance, so perhaps allowing the shooter to just casually walk away. Don Mick also towed the car away to the police impound, and then received the car back from the Police six weeks later and continued to drive it for his business.
A proper investigation relies heavily on the “Timeline of Events”. However, that is not at all evident in these cases as death certificates, police reports, and news articles have events and responders times several hours apart from each other which precludes any basis for establishing actual time of deaths. The timeline is also suspect and erroneous in our mother’s murder two years later after she was following up on a “tip” on our Dad’s murder.
February 21, 1973, Madeleine Leonard, our mother, called us at home at 10 pm when she finished her shift waitressing at the Top Hat Restaurant in Mountainhome PA. She stated to us twins that she “had a lead in our father’s murder and was going to Mt. Pocono to check it out.” We pleaded with her "please don't go alone". She insisted "I will be fine and I will be home soon". Sadly, she never came home.
The following morning, with fear and apprehension of not knowing where our Mom was, we went to school the following day. Our fears were frighteningly realized hearing a few hours later that she was killed in a suspicious car crash around 2 am on the 22nd of February 1973.
A local Police Chief, Robert Hartman, who was a good friend of our Dad’s, told us children that our mother “was run off the road by another car as there was a second set of tire tracks", and "her car had paint transfer and a damaged rear bumper". He also stated, "she was also murdered and the cases were connected.”
State Police would not investigate our Mom’s suspicious accident as a homicide and hid this fact from us until we found out in 2017 that they considered it only a traffic fatality and that no accident records existed prior to 1975 at that time. This is why all evidence and reports quietly disappeared throughout the years. We strongly feel this is why police and investigators keep a tight lid on all investigations so that witnesses, evidence, and first responders pass away so no real investigation can take place that they feel wastes their departments funds and resources.
We would appreciate anything you could do to bring this to the attention of the public and help us move forward toward justice, peace of mind, resolution, and possibly closure of these cases. Our Mom was a Gold Star Mom who lost a son in the Vietnam War. Our Dad was a WWII Veteran and a POW for over 22 months. Their memories should not be forgotten but embraced and told to the world. They both deserve honor and justice since they both gave so much to this country and community and are now silenced victims.
Hoping we can bring memories to light, I am providing links from our Mom and Dad’s unsolved murder cases for your review from recent news stories:
PLEASE CALL WITH ANY INFO, TIPS, OR LEADS . . .
PSP (570) [phone redacted]
PA CRIMESTOPPERS-1-800-4PA TIPS
https://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight/twin-sisters-take-investigation-1970s-deaths-parents-john-madeleine-le-rcna76653
https://www.poconorecord.com/in-depth/news/crime/2022/04/27/john-leonard-murder-pocono-resort-buck-hill-inn-mystery/65349626007/
In closing, thank you to everyone for anything that you can donate as your monetary gift will allow us to continue our quest in finding the truth and bring justice for our Mom and Dad. Our Mom and Dad are silenced victims who need voices to tell their stories.
Any Info, Tips and Leads can be emailed to: [email redacted]
Organizer
Lori Leonard
Organizer
Barrett Township, PA
