Crime & Safety

Nightmare on Hickory St. Murder Affidavits Come Up Empty

Affidavits completed by cops and lawyers in the Nightmare on Hickory Street Double Murder failed to identify the source of a leak and the defense wants a special prosecutor to ferret it out.

By Joseph Hosey

Defense attorneys, cops and prosecutors ordered to sign affidavits all swore they did not leak police reports to Patch, and now lawyers are calling for a special prosecutor to sniff out the source.

Public Defender Frank Astrella raised the issue of bringing in a special prosecutor to investigate how Patch obtained the police reports detailing a grisly double murder on Hickory Street.

Patch has exclusive access to what the four young people charged with the murders—Bethany McKee, 18, Alissa Massaro, 19, Adam Landerman, 19, and Joshua Miner, 24—reportedly told detectives after the cops discovered two dead men in Massaro's Hickory Street home.

Landerman and Miner strangled the two victims—Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins, both 22—and then stole their drugs and money, the reports said. Massaro and Miner then had sex on top of Glover and Rankins' corpses, according to the police reports.

After a drug and alcohol-fueled night of partying, the four hatched a plan to dismember the dead men's bodies, the reports said. Miner reportedly said he wanted to keep Glover and Rankins' teeth as trophies.

The series of stories Patch ran on the reports prompted Judge Kinney to seal the murder case files. Kinney unsealed the files during Friday's hearing but allowed attorneys to request specific documents be kept private. Kinney said he will decide next month whether those documents will remain sealed.

The special prosecutor issue also was put on hold. Attorney Neil Patel, who represents McKee, said he will try to put a Patch reporter on the witness stand, and the request for a special prosecutor may affect that.

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