Police escort homicide suspect Jesse Dee Wise,
21, from the East Lampeter Township
Police Department Thursday, April 13, 2006.
Wise has pleaded guilty to killing six of his
family members in a Leola home in April 2006.
He faced six counts of criminal homicide.
Law enforcement officials pulled away,
transporting Wise to his arraignment, where he appeared
before District Judge B. Denise Commins. Commins ordered Wise held
without bail.
Police said both of his parents are dead.
He had been living with his grandparents at the
home where the killings happened, according to police.
Wise does have a criminal record in Lancaster
County.
In the summer of 2004, he was charged with
eight crimes.
They ranged from reckless driving to a felony
count of conspiracy to commit burglary. He's also accused
of breaking into the First Baptist Church of Pequea in Salisbury
Township.
Police took Wise into custody shortly after the
bodies were discovered at the Leola home.
East Lampeter Township Police Chief John Bowman
announced Wise's arrest
at a news conference several days after the killings.
Police said one of the victims was Chance Wise,
5.
Police also identified Jessie James Wise, 17,
as one of the victims.
Investigators gather outside the home where the
bodies were found.
In an initial search of the home at 81 East
Main St., police found five bodies. A forensics team
found the sixth body during a later search of the home, police said.
Police had responded to the home after a friend
of the homeowner called 911. Homeowner Jessie Wise Sr., 60, (pictured
above) was in New York and had called a friend, John Adams, to ask
him to look in on his family because he had not heard from them in
days.
"Never had no argument with me. Never had
anything with me. I don't know what happened," said Wise Sr. of his
grandson and the suspect, Jesse Dee Wise.
John Adams said he arrived to find Jesse Dee
Wise, also known as "Jay," in the home, along with the victims in
the basement. "I turned on a light and started walking down the
stairs, and the first think I saw was Arlene. I bent down just a
little and then I saw the baby down there lying on its face. I ran
out, and I told the police that they were all down there dead,” said
Adams.
Police made arrangements for Wise to return
from New York.
They said he was very helpful in their investigation.
Police said they found hair, blood and bone
fragments upstairs. In a guitar case at the home, police found two
17-inch pieces of metal wrapped at one end with cloth. An affidavit
said metal pieces "had the appearance of a homemade weapon/club,
capable of causing death if used as a weapon." They also appeared to
have blood on them.
Police said all of the bodies were found in the
basement of the house.
Some were wrapped in sheets and blankets.
The warrant also said one of the victims was
found with obvious head wounds.
The house is located at 81 East Main St., Leola.
It is in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch
country.
Police said three of the victims inside the
house were bludgeoned.
Police removed bags of evidence from the home.
Police listed the victims as: Emily Wise, 64,
suspect's grandmother, Wanda Wise, 45, suspect's aunt, Arlene Wise,
30, suspect's aunt, Skylar Wise, 19, suspect's cousin, Chance Wise,
5, suspect's cousin, Jessie James Wise, 17, suspect's cousin.
Leola has about 750 residents. The Wise family
had moved to the area about six months ago
from New Holland, which is just a few miles away.
Flowers,
stuffed animals and candles are
shown as part of a makeshift
memorial in Leola, Pa., outside
the home where six bodies were
found, in this April 14, 2006,
file photo. Jesse D. "Jay" Wise,
22, pleaded guilty Friday, june
15, 2007, to six counts of
criminal homicide and was
sentenced to life in prison for
fatally beating and stabbing six
family members inside their home.
At the request of the surviving
family members, prosecutors said
they agreed not to seek the
death penalty against Wise in
the killings.
WGAL.com
