Wayne Leigh Rifendifer:1981, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania

 



  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 head with a .38 caliber weapon and was also castrated. 


    (FBI ballistics experts have determined that the same gun was used in both the Rifendifer and 1982 Marty James Shook murders.)


   Wayne Rifendifer was born on August 1st, 1951 to Lucid Rifendifer (She later remarried and had the last name Peatt) and Harold L. Rifendifer of Bridgeport, Connecticut. He grew up in Bridgeport but also lived in Plymouth, Pennsylvania just outside Wilkes-Barre. 


   To submit a tip about Wayne Rifendifer’s murder the Pennsylvania State Police can be reached at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. 



   A year later a similar murder happened in Utah:


  Marty James Shook was born on July 21st, 1960 in Sacramento County, California. His Mother’s maiden name was Fink. 


  In 1977 he was attending high school in Folsom, California. 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. I thought maybe a person would have to hike back into that canyon but the highway runs right there. Marty was left in the brush just off the highway.



  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 alone? 


  Did he catch a ride with someone? Was it a trucker or salesman? 


  In an article about the discovery of Marty, the reporter stated that another attempted murder had taken place near Douglas in Converse County, Wyoming about a month before. That victim had also been castrated but lived. That victim had been shot in the back by a shotgun. Was that victim able to describe who shot him? The article did not name that victim. Two men were wanted at the time for that attempted murder.

Wyoming article dated May 14th, 1982


Suspects in the May attack in Wyoming


 To submit a tip to authorities in Utah about the murder Marty Shook please use this link: https://bci.utah.gov/coldcases/marty-james-shook-2/


or call 833-377-7233


   To submit a tip about Wayne Rifendifer’s murder the Pennsylvania State Police can be reached at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. 


   Rest In Peace Wayne.




 Lingering question: Is the 1977 murder of Stanley Leighton, just east of Truckee, CA on I-80 related to these crimes? 


(These murders are not the work of William Bonin. He was incarcerated in 1977 and again in 81, 82.) 


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