If you ask a parent what they hope for their child’s future, they’ll most likely say, for them to be happy. We love, nurture & guide our children as they grow, gradually allowing them more & more independence, hoping we’re instilling the values that allow them to turn into productive, kind, content adults who thrive in this world. In this story, the lives of what appear to be a typical, American, suburban family come crashing to the ground in an instant. For Ron & Sue Witman, everything they envisioned for their teenage son’s futures came to a sudden & tragic end on what started as a typical fall Friday.
The Witman family consisted of parents Ron & Sue & their two sons, 15-year old Zach & 13-year-old Greg who lived in the small, quiet town of New Freedom, Pennsylvania. The town was shocked & saddened when they learned the tragic news that 13-year-old Greg had been ambushed in his own home moments after walking through the front door as he came home from school. Even more chilling, they soon learned that the murderer was Greg’s own teenage brother who slashed him to the point of decapitation.
During the filming of Investigation Discovery’s 2020 documentary based on this case, The Witmans, Ron Witman described their family of four as a normal American, middle class family. After Ron & Sue got married, Sue wasn’t sure if she would ever be able to have children & when her boys were born, she was thrilled. Despite being brothers, Sue indicated that Zach & Greg’s likes & dislikes were very different & she always appreciated those differences. Zach was more of a quiet & introverted instigator of the family while Greg was social & full of fun.
Friday, October 2, 1998 began as a vibrant fall day & the children of New Freedom were buzzing with excitement for the homecoming football game that night. It was spirit week at school, there was a pep rally & the students were getting amped up for the big game.
All was calm & typical until 3:17 pm when a 911 call came through & 15-year-old Zach Witman requested emergency assistance to his home in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. The boy was frantic as he screamed, I came downstairs & the door was cracked & he was just lying there! He went on to explain that his brother’s throat was all cut up & he said I guess he’s dead!
As Zach spoke with the dispatcher, 13-year-old Greg Witman’s body lay slumped against the dryer in the laundry room. The dispatcher instructed Zach to move his brother to his back & when he did, he indicated that his brother’s head practically came off. He began to scream, Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Why? Why? Why? EMT & fire personnel were the first to arrive & by 3:25 pm, police were on the scene & found Zach screaming in the garage.
As this horrifying scene unfolded, Sue was working at a bank in Baltimore about 38 miles/61 km from home. It was routine that the boys call her to check in at about 3:20 pm when they were home from school. As 3:40 pm rolled around, it dawned on her that she hadn’t heard from them.
Meanwhile as the EMTs arrived at the Witman home, they noticed that despite the fact that Zach seemed hysterical, there were no tears coming from his eyes. As they entered the home, they found Greg lying on the laundry room floor surrounded by blood. They were horrified when they noted the extensive damage to the 13-year-old’s neck. As the EMT touched Greg’s face with his gloved hand, he could feel that the boy was still warm.
Sean Siggins was the first officer to the scene & an EMT quickly informed him that he had a crime scene. Siggins noted that Zach was standing in the garage with the EMT; he was holding a phone & seemed edgy. There was blood on both the phone & Zach’s shirt & Zach explained that Greg’s blood transferred to his body & clothing when he tried to give him CPR.
As Siggins approached Zach, he continued to say that he needed to call his mom. He told the officer that he’d left a key hanging on the inside of the storm door so his 13-year-old brother Greg could get inside & he went upstairs to take a nap. He heard the sound of the front door open & close & then the sounds of a struggle paired with a thud that sounded as if someone was getting thrown against a wall. When he went downstairs to investigate, he saw blood on the floor in the hallway & then found his brother lying on the laundry room floor so he called 911.
When Chief James Childs arrived at the scene at 3:30 pm, he met with Officer Siggins on the driveway & instructed him to conduct a canvass of the neighborhood. As Childs stood in the doorway that led from the garage to the home, he could see Greg’s body on the laundry room floor, lying in a pool of blood.
As Chief Childs approached Zach, he was hysterical & screeching in a high-pitched voice, saying that he needed to call his mom. He was told by the EMT that he was unsure if anyone else was inside the home.
Chief Childs conducted a security sweep of the home & in the process, he saw droplets of blood on the floor as well as a broken table in the foyer, a jacket, a school back pack & a key ring neck chain. He continued to move throughout the rooms of the house & found blood on the front door as well as the walls.
As Childs made his way upstairs to the second floor of the home, he noted that all of the doors were closed other than the bathroom door where he could see a towel laying on the floor. He eventually made his way through the remaining rooms on the second floor as he called for backup & headed back outside. In the meantime, the EMT had taken Zachary to the ambulance that sat at the end of the driveway.
The ambulance left the Witman house at 3:45 pm to evaluate Zach at the hospital. Childs instructed another officer to follow the ambulance in order to secure the clothing that the boy wore. The Pennsylvania State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit were called in & Zach’s mother Sue was called from a neighbor’s home. She was given the devastating news that her younger son was deceased & her older son was being transferred to the hospital.
In the meantime, investigators worked on locating Ron at the airport as he was flying in from Chicago. As Ron landed in Baltimore, he was met by a security guard who delivered the unimaginable news of Greg’s death as Ron collapsed to the ground in grief. Ron later realized that at the exact time he’d been boarding the plan in Chicago, his son was being stabbed to death.
Within an hour, Sue arrived home from work & Chief Childs met her on the driveway to express his condolences. All Sue wanted was to see her baby boy, but Childs told her that wasn’t possible since they needed to maintain the integrity of the crime scene.
The state police as well as the crime scene unit arrived between 4:30-5:30 pm & photos were taken of the interior of the home as well as the exterior, including the open attached garage. In the meantime, the EMT took Zachary’s sweatshirt & socks & wiped his hands with a towel that was also secured.
In the meantime, Detective Clancy from the District Attorney’s Office went to the hospital to speak with Zach. The conversation started on a light topic & the two spoke about soccer & sports in general. Zach told him that he’d been home sick from school that day & stayed in his room, in bed much of the day. He heard noises coming from downstairs & made the assumption it was just Greg coming home from school. When he went downstairs to investigate, he saw blood & ultimately found his brother in the laundry room.
Soon, investigators found no evidence to suggest that there had been an intruder in the home that day.
When Sue arrived at the hospital, she was taken aback by the sight of what looked like officers questioning her son & this was the point that she realized they were considering Zach a suspect. Sue said that she looked her son in the eyes & directly asked him if he killed Greg. Zach responded, I never would have hurt Greg, I loved Greg & from that moment on, she made the decision to fully believe in Zach’s innocence.
By 8 pm, Ron was at the hospital & he was informed that Sue had been sedated so he went to find Zach. Just as Sue had, Ron directly asked their son if he had anything to do with his brother’s death & Zach held firm on his innocence. As with Sue, Ron’s belief in his son has never wavered. .
Being a small town with a population of less than 4,000 in 1998, investigators were not well versed at dealing with such a violent crime. There was no county forensics team at the time & Rick Lee, a York Daily Record court reporter, indicated that so many people had trampled in & out of the house throughout the investigation. Reports indicate that up to 25 people had been inside the home before it had been sealed off.
Their inexperience was evident when they utilized Luminol for the very first time in their careers, referring to the directions as they mixed the product. When they managed to successfully mix & spray the solution, they noted glowing footprints in the home, but the photos taken did not process as the shutter speed was incorrect. Chief Childs indicated that despite the lack of photos, there were enough investigators present to see the Luminol light up.
About twelve hours after arriving at the crime scene, the Luminol located various trails of blood both in & outside the home. The trails led to various locations such as a computer hutch in the family room & a tree in the backyard that sat next to a gazebo that covered a hot tub. It was near this spot that investigators noticed a fresh mound of dirt under the branches of the tree. As they began to investigate & dig at this location, they located a small bloody pen knife & soccer goalie gloves. The knife had a plastic handle with a 1 ¾ inch retractable blade. Ron & Sue later indicated that they’d never seen the knife before & police ended up confiscating a similar knife from Zach’s room during the investigation.
Investigators spoke with the Witmans about their findings on Sunday, October 4, two days after Greg’s murder & the couple was furious that they were suggesting that Zach was the murderer. It was their belief that because they solely focused on Zach being responsible, they failed to pursue other possibilities.
Greg’s funeral was packed with mourners, many were fellow 8th grade classmates. It did not take long for many of the residents of New Freedom to fully believe that Zach was responsible for his brother’s murder. They referenced the fact that only two weeks before his death, Greg told a friend that he was afraid of his brother because of his drug use & indicated that Greg threatened to tell police about Zach’s drug use.
According to Sue, Zach had been tested for every drug there was & all came back negative while Ron pointed out that their son had amazing grades at the time of Greg’s murder.
Dr Sara Funke was the pathologist who conducted Greg’s autopsy & discovered that before his throat had been slashed to his spine which severed his trachea as well all but one major blood vessel in his neck. Based on the 25 defensive wounds to his hands, some very deep, it was clear that Greg had fought for his life. Only a small amount of inhaled blood was found in his lungs which suggests that he died very quickly. His throat had been slashed seventeen times & he had been stabbed an additional sixty-five times around the neck. According to Dr. Funke, by the time the “last swipe” was delivered, Greg was already dead. Dr. Funke clipped Greg’s fingernails, but DNA testing was never done on the clippings.
Less than one week after Greg’s death, Zach was arrested for first-degree murder & charged as an adult with the risk of facing the death penalty. Zach took part in multiple psychiatric assessments & forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jeffrey Janofsky found no evidence that Zach had entitlement, rage, issues with authority figures or struggles with impulse control.
The question was, would Zach respond to treatment within the juvenile system to reduce the risk of crime as an adult. Judge Uhler determined that Zach should not be decertified to juvenile court & should be tried as an adult.
During the filming of The Witmans, viewers saw that Ron & Sue kept Greg’s room as it was when he died. They held up his white soccer jersey from his closet & indicated it was the shirt he wore on the day he died. Despite the fact that the majority of the jersey is white, police mistook it for a red shirt when they responded to the scene as it was fully saturated in blood. Ron indicated that since their younger son’s murder & their older son’s subsequent arrest, his relationship with Sue has been destroyed since they have two separate methods of coping which leads to many arguments. Rather than living as a husband & wife, they now cohabitate like roommates.
After Zach’s arrest, he was granted bail, fitted with an electronic monitor & placed on house arrest for 4.5 years as he awaited trial. He was only allowed to leave the house for visits to his doctors or lawyers. During his time at home, Ron indicated that the community didn’t want him there, fearful of his presence & what he was capable of. Sue indicated that throughout this time, they lived with their son day in & day out & he never once showed any signs of violence.
Childhood friends who came to the house to visit Zach said that he became extremely withdrawn, pale & sick in appearance. The teacher who home schooled Zach during these five years, Bernadette Schulte, described him as a very bright kid who was kind & gentle & like Sue, she said she never once saw him angry. She also added that during one teaching session, he was so gentle that he didn’t even have the heart to kill a spider that was in the house.
The trial was continuously delayed, mostly due to issues with evidence. The sweatpants Zach was wearing at the time of Greg’s murder were never found.
The trial began on May 7, 2003, close to five years after Greg’s murder & Dave McGlaughlin served as Zach’s defense attorney. Because there was so much media attention in the case, jurors were bussed three hours each day to & from Montgomery County. If found guilty, Zach would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole due the horrific nature of the murder.
During the trial, Zach sat like a statue, completely emotionless & stared straight ahead.
The jurors learned that on the day of Greg’s murder, Friday, October 2, 1998, since Zach stayed home sick from school that day, he’d left the key in the doorway so Greg could let himself in when he got off the bus just after 3 pm. It was clear that whatever happened, happened very quickly as Zach placed the 911 call in as little as 11-12 minutes of when Greg would have come home from school.
It was theorized that as Greg walked through the front door, Zach likely came upon him in the hallway where a scuffle began since blood was initially seen in this location with a trail of blood leading further into the house. Zach started stabbing Greg in the back of the head & because he was still wearing his backpack at this point, none of the wounds were seen below the collar line.
A table was found broken in the foyer of the home, Greg’s backpack was discarded on the ground right next to it with a pool of blood surrounding the area. Based on blood evidence, investigators believed that Greg jumped up as he threw his backpack off & ran back toward the front door. He put his bloodied right hand on the wall next to the door & grabbed the doorknob with his left hand as he desperately tried to escape from the house, unable to as Zach was directly behind him. Unable to flee, he turned to his right & ran toward the dining room.
As Greg ran to the dining room, he would have jumped over the dog gate to move in the direction of the laundry room in order to flee through his second possible exit to safety, the garage door. Investigators found a bloodied gloved handprint on the door that led to the garage that showed that Zach held his hand there to prevent Greg from escaping. Greg’s last hope to safety was the door that sat within the laundry room which led to the backyard, but sadly, he never made it. Investigators found a bloody handprint on the doorknob while his brutalized body fell to the floor in this location.
It was routine that a little girl named Erynn called Greg everyday when he came home from school right around 3:10 pm. When she called that day at 3:09 pm, someone picked up the phone & hung it back up without saying a word. According to Erynn, she was sure the call was answered on the downstair’s phone based on the noise it makes when the phone hangs up. She called a second time at 3:15 pm & this time, Zach answered & told her that Greg wasn’t home yet & instructed her to call back in a little while. Erynn believed that based on the sound, Zach answered the upstairs phone this time.
During the trial Erynn testified that she’d spoken with Zach for a couple of minutes when she called at 3:15 pm & he sounded the same as he usually did; he didn’t seem to be stressed or out of breath. Based on the time of the call, it would have been right around the exact time of the attack or just after. The defense argued that after such a horrendously vicious attack, it would have been nearly impossible for him to sound as he normally did since the prosecution suggested that Zach attacked his brother sometime between 3:10 & 3:17 pm
Investigators theorized that after Greg was dead, Zach left the laundry room, walked through the den & out the back door. Once in the yard, he dug a hole next to the wooden porch & buried the gloves & knife. He came back inside, grabbed the portable phone, went out into the garage & dialed 911 at 3:17 pm. He told the dispatcher that he didn’t hear a bang, but heard what sounded like suffering or wrestling around.
During the trial, the jury saw the blue lacrosse sweatshirt that Zach wore that day which showed multiple patterns of blood staining as well as drips of blood on the top of his socks. The sweatshirt was bloody, but not bloodsoaked. The bottoms of his socks showed blood staining as well as dirt which was consistent with the ground where the gloves & knife had been buried. Soil was also found on a white towel that an EMT used to wipe Zach’s hands that showed the same levels of mica as found in the yard.
The sweatshirt showed arterial spurts which were consistent with the wounds present to the arteries in Greg’s neck. There was also impact spatter which would only be there as a result of Zach stabbing his brother. However, there was no blood found on Zach’s face or in his hair which the defense argued proved that he wasn’t the killer. One shallow cut was found on Zach’s left ring finger & some believe that more cuts would be present if Zach was the one who attacked his brother because the knife handle would have slipped during the attack.
The defense pointed out that there was no blood transfer on the outside of the door to the backyard where Zach would have come back through after burying the evidence & before calling 911. The sink traps also showed no blood evidence which indicated that Zach hadn’t washed his hands. However, if Zach wore gloves during the attack & removed them when he buried them, his hands would be free of blood. The defense also said that the pattern of blood found on Zach’s socks didn’t match the pattern seen on the floor when Luminol was utilized.
The other issue that was discussed was the fact that other substances cause Luminol to react including the chemicals used in the hot tub that sat just outside the back door & next to the spot where the evidence was buried. The footprints which should have gotten lighter as they progressed from the house only got brighter toward the hot tub & Sue used the hot tub on a regular basis.
The Witman’s initial defense attorney became very ill & they ended up choosing defense attorney Dave McGlaughlin which they later reflect was a big mistake as he never called in any experts. Reports indicate he also allowed in incriminating evidence & failed to convince the jury that Zach would not have killed his brother & would have been physically unable to do so.
Sue theorized that after Greg got off the bus, he came in through the front door & according to the state, his throat was immediately slashed many times as he stood just inside. She believes that in this initial attack, his trachea was severed which made it impossible for him to scream out to Zach for help. The attacker took him through the dining room & she pointed out that he would not have been able to climb over the dog gate because of the severity of his neck wounds. He was then brought into the laundry room where Zach ultimately found him. When the dispatcher instructed him to pick Greg up, he lifted his brother which caused his head to fall back & transfer the blood seen on his sweatshirt. Zach told the dispatcher that he could see inside his brother’s throat yet he was still instructed to pick him up.
On May 21, 2003 the jury of twelve deliberated for eleven hours & found Zach guilty of first-degree murder & he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2013, 10 years after the sentencing, Sue indicated that many people wonder why they still live in the house where such a horrible thing happened. She said that she hopes if there is a re-trial, jury members will come to the house to see what is suggested that Zach did in the suggested time period of the attack & they would see that it was impossible.
Sue & Ron travel the 280 miles/450 km roundtrip each week to visit Zach at the state prison & indicate that during their visits, he never speaks of the case since it’s too painful. During his time behind bars he became a tutor & a teacher’s aid in an Adult Basic Education class & helped fellow prisoners obtain their GEDs or with legal documentation. Time in the classroom inspired Zach to take college classes through Ohio University’s Correctional Education Program.
During the documentary, The Witmans, Ron drinks from a cup of coffee that is lined with images of his sons from a family vacation they took six weeks before Greg’s murder. He spoke about how much fun the boys had on that trip together, riding around on bikes together. At one point, Greg got lost so Zach went out to find his brother & Ron pointed out that if Zach wanted Greg to die, he could have done something then. He & Sue are making it their mission to help their son who is still alive & continue to fully believe that the person responsible for Greg’s murder is still out there.
Ron & Sue are aware that most people believe that they either just don’t want to believe that their own son would be capable of killing his own brother or that they just don’t want to lose their other son. They know people think that they cannot see reality or that they’re just “whackos.”
In March 2013, a press conference was held with friends & family who teamed up with detectives to relaunch the investigation to prove Zach’s innocence. An anonymous donor provided a $100,000 reward for information that could lead to finding the “real killer.” Four years after this press conference, a caller from the tip line provided a lead & the Witmans hired a private investigator to follow up on a potential suspect.
Private detective Jeff Stein looked into the information & learned that an anonymous witness gave a statement about a person of interest who had made concerning comments in the weeks before Greg’s murder. This person stopped over at the witness’s house because he noticed that his kid’s bikes were at her house & realized his kids were hanging out with her son. As they chatted, he complained about how much he hated the smartass rich kids in the neighborhood. He complained that they made fun of everyone & lived in big fancy houses. He said, someone could kill them & no one would know. Grab them when they weren’t expecting it.
The woman indicated that this man lived within walking distance of the Witman’s home & during his time at her house, he took out a pocket knife & began to clean his fingernails with the weapon. The tool he used looked eerily similar to the pen knife that killed Greg. He told her that he had one at home that was so sharp it could cut your throat in a second. When the woman learned of Greg’s murder she asked her husband what she should do with the information & he assured her that the police would find the killer. Soon, this man moved away.
In 2016, the U.S.Supreme court ruled that sentencing juveniles to die in prison is cruel, unusual & unconstitutional. With this, the Witmans hoped to get a reduced sentence, but in order to do so, Zach would have to admit guilt for the D.A. to negotiate. Sue felt that this was a problem, remaining convinced that Zach did not kill Greg.
Zach agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of third-degree murder; until this point, he maintained his innocence. The plea hearing was held on February 8, 2018 & the state parole board granted him parole on January 18, 2019 with the earliest release date of May 21. That same month, February 2018, twenty years had passed since Greg’s murder when the Witmans moved out of their home & relocated to a remote area of Pennsylvania.
During Zach’s January 2018 guilty-plea hearing a transcript of his confession was read aloud. It indicated that on October 2, 1998 Zach was home sick from school. During the day Greg’s girlfriend called & Zach hung up on her. When Greg came home, he was angry & confronted his brother which in turn, angered Zach. Zach went to his room & Greg followed; looking to scare him, Zach grabbed gloves & a knife. He then followed Greg downstairs & began stabbing him in the foyer. Greg ran to the laundry room to escape & Zach ran after him & slashed & stabbed him to death. After, he called 911 & went into the yard to bury the evidence.
According to chief deputy prosecutor Tim Barker, at the time of the murder, Zach was too afraid to admit what he’d done. According to Barker, prosecutors offered a plea to his attorney in 2002, but Zach was not told about it until late 2017. This fact allowed his first-degree murder conviction to be void which allowed him to plead guilty to third-degree murder.
At 9 am on Tuesday, May 21, 2019, Zach was released from prison, sixteen years to the day of his conviction at age 36. Sue indicated that Zach was furious with them for participating in The Witmans documentary since he doesn’t want any more attention directed at him. She chose to do so because she wanted viewers to realize that there are two sides to every story. She wanted the world to know that they’re decent people, their children are decent people & what happened to their unassuming family could happen to anyone.
Since his release, Zach went on to earn an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies & graduated with honors in December 2021. He’s gone on to work with organizations that advocate for comprehensive changes to the criminal justice system & plans to focus on studying legal philosophy.
Private investigator Jeff Stein is independently pursuing the other suspect
References:
- FindLaw: Commonwealth v. Witman
- York Daily Record: Gregory fought for life
- Amazon Prime: The Witmans
- York Dispatch: Zachary Witman released; murdered 13-year-old brother in 1998: Archive
- People: A Pa. teen pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing his brother – but family maintains his innocence
- Fox News: Zach Witman’s parents speak out in new doc on murder
- Grunge: The untold truth of the Witman murder case
- Slideshare: Witman case
- York Daily Record: Zach Witman still insists he didn’t kill brother Gregory in 1998
- JIE: Our ‘22-’23 scholar cohort
