Chalkboard Thoughts

    On August 19th, 1981, Wayne Rifendifer was found in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The nearest town is called Jersey Shore but this Jersey Shore is not on the Atlantic Ocean. It is located in Central Pennsylvania along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. It is not too long of a drive north of Harrisburg. ( A town called Lock Haven is also nearby and is the town mentioned in the 1981 articles.)   (Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania is the hometown of the writer Hunter S. Thompson. There’s not a lot of tourism there or other things to do it seems. Guys who like Hunter S. Thompson, drugs and guns enough might want to make a trip there.)   Williamsport is also very nearby and is home to the Little League World Series. In 1981 the Little League World Series took place from August 25th through the 29th.  It’s scary to think this murder took place so close to when so many kids were coming to town.     Wayne Rifendifer had been shot in the...

        Marty Shook was born on July 21st, 1960 in Sacramento County, California. Mother’s maiden name was Fink.    In 1977 he was attending school in Folsom, California. But, Marty graduated from a different high school in 1979 in Truckee, CA.    On June 14th, 1982 Marty was found deceased by a fisherman in Daniel’s Canyon, Wasatch County, Utah. That’s south of Heber City and around an hour drive south of Interstate 80 on Highway 40.    Marty Shook was murdered by a .38 caliber gunshot wound to the head and his remains were also horribly mutilated. The killer had castrated him. Marty was also found without clothing.    What was Marty Shook doing so far from Truckee? Who was he with?     According to family, Marty was an avid hiker. He set out for Colorado to find work. He planned to hitchhike there and camp along the way. He had a backpack and a bedroll with him. Did he go a...

        Stanley Robert Leighton was born on March 25th, 1955 in Marysville, California to Mary Ann Riedel Leighton and Lloyd Leighton.    Stanley had a sister named Susan and three brothers: Lloyd Jr., George, and Timothy.   In 1960, Stan’s mother, Mary Ann, passed away. Stan was only five.   Stan’s father remarried some time later and Timothy and Susan joined the family.   Stanley Robert Leighton graduated from Yuba City High School in 1973.    In 1975 he was listed as living at 1830 Clement Way Apartment 7 in the Marysville city directory. (Marysville and Yuba City are not very far apart)   He played a lot of recreational softball with his high school friends in a local league in those days. He was a second baseman for a team known as “Montezuma’s Revenge”.They had a lot of fun. His friends remember him as a nice guy and a good friend.    In 1977 Stanley was in th...