Gang of Six Tortures + Humiliates Her For 36 Hours
Jennifer Lee Dougherty was born on November 8 1979 in Latrobe Pennsylvania to parents Denise and Richard ‘s parents ultimately Divorced with Denise remarrying a man named Bobby Murphy of Mount Pleasant Jennifer grew up just an hour southeast of Pittsburgh where her father ultimately relocated she had two sisters joy and Jamie and a stepbrother named Dave although she never received a specific diagnosis Jennifer had a developmental disability of some kind she struggled with social cues judgment and was a frequent Target
by bullies as a child this same bullying would follow her into adulthood while at school she was pushed around by the other girls and would have gum mashed into her hair Jennifer would often come home from school in tears she once told her mother that sometimes she wished that she could be what she referred to as a normal girl Jennifer aspired to do all the kinds of things that able-bodied people usually take for granted to live on her own to belong to a community to have a job get married and have children by all
accounts Jennifer was sweet natured and trusting sometimes to a fault when others were cruel Jennifer would reason that they might be having a bad day and would try even harder to be kind to them she would see the good and people above all else even though she was the target of some pretty nasty bullying Jennifer was also quick to make friends due to her warm demeanor according to her mother Denise quote Jennifer was a very easy going she liked to have fun she was trusting she made friends easily she loved to dance and she loved to sing end
quote she enjoyed helping to care for her nieces and nephew and loved working on vehicles with her Uncle she hoped that she might be a mechanic like him one day Jennifer’s favorite foods included lasagna and cheesecake she was also a big fan of scary movies college football and wrestling in 2010 at the age of 30 Jennifer was on her way to achieving some of her aspirations she very much wanted to live her life independently now for her this meant moving out of her mother’s house in order to facilitate this Jennifer
partook in living skills classes at a local community center called the West Place clubhouse in Greensburg Jennifer would often take the 20-minute bus ride from Mount Pleasant to Greensburg where she was training to become a mechanic just like her uncle she’d also make the trip with some regularity for dentists and counseling appointments according to their website clubhouses provide comprehensive and dynamic opportunities for persons living with severe mental illness to participate in housing employment Education Health and
Wellness initiatives that renews and reconnects them with mainstream Society members play an active role in their own recovery and that of their peers by working alongside staff to organize and run programs although a grown woman she still functioned at the emotional level of a 14 year old girl her eyes still sparkled with a childlike Wonder unlike those of her peers who had become hardened by the burdens of adulthood and although Jennifer’s Whimsical nature made her a beloved figure in her community it also made her vulnerable to those who
would wish to take advantage of her good-natured spark due to this Jennifer’s mother and sister were particularly protective of her they wanted to Shield her from the outside influences that would seek to do her harm but they also recognized that she was a grown woman who deserved all that adulthood had to offer Jennifer had recently told her family that she made a group of new friends at the West Place clubhouse thrilled about the prospect of Jennifer expanding her network and building confidence she had her family’s full support however these
were exactly the types of people that they were trying to Shield her from the group consisted of Angela marinucci Ricky smerns Amber meidinger Melvin Knight Peggy Miller and Robert Masters Jr born on January 12 1990 Amber Christine meidinger met Melvin Knight at a homeless shelter in Washington state in January of 2010.
Melvin was born on October 27 1989 to a drug addicted father who was imprisoned during the early years of his life Melvin desperately wanted to be different from his father sadly he developed lifelong learning and social problems after he fell at a moving vehicle and hit his head at the age of five Amber and Melvin soon became a couple and decided to lead the state of Washington for a shot at a better life the two moved to several different locations before settling in Greensburg Pennsylvania Amber and Melvin met up with Ricky on
February 8 2010. at the time Amber was pregnant with Melvin’s child and the couple had been staying at a Greensburg area Hotel Melvin and Ricky were already familiar with one another from a stint in jail now it should be noted that some Publications claim that Amber and Ricky were the ones who met in jail but there are no sources confirming this now even though the three didn’t really know each other that well Ricky offered Amber and Melvin a place to stay at his apartment located at 428 North Pennsylvania Avenue
in Greensburg on March 6 1986 Ricky Van Edward smyrns was born to a drug-addicted Philadelphia’s worker in a Pittsburgh gang member it’s also been stated in other Publications that Ricky was actually the sex worker in gang member but there are no sources confirming this either abandoned at Birth he was moved in and out of foster homes and was treated for mental health disorders as early as age four he suffered harm and neglect until he was eventually taken in by the smyrns family of North Huntington at age 10.
Ricky suffered essay in physical harm from his adoptive father and his uncle he had tried alcohol in a whole array of drugs by the age of six he had also been diagnosed with PTSD at the age of eight and had undergone 103 therapy sessions by age 10. in addition he was diagnosed as having as many as seven different personalities and 15 total psychiatric issues Ricky’s criminal history started off pretty early in 1997 at the age of 11 he burglarized his neighbor’s home and stole knives guitars coins bullets and
cash that same year he essayed a woman in her own basement also staying at Ricky’s North Pennsylvania Avenue apartment with 17 year old Angela Lynn marinucci born July 14 1992 Angela was Ricky’s teenage girlfriend who had some challenges of her own Angela suffered a head injury when she was hit by a truck in 2008 at the age of 15.
this injury substantially altered her behavior and pushed her into a downward spiral now people who’ve experienced brain injuries may have changes in their behavior and their emotional state these may include among others difficulty with self-control risky Behavior verbal or physical outbursts lack of empathy for others and anger for Angela being a teenager with a traumatic brain injury proved to be an explosive combination Angela was the first member of the group to befriend Jennifer the two met at the West Place clubhouse and became Fast
Friends despite their difference in age and polar opposite personalities Jennifer and Angela would talk on the phone for hours through Angela she met the rest of the friend group Jennifer increasingly spent more time in Greensburg with her new friends and it felt like she had found Kindred Spirits they were all struggling with their own hardships and in Jennifer’s opinion we’re still able to make their way in the worlds also living in Ricky’s apartment where Peggy Darlene Miller born on February 2nd 1983 and Robert
Lauren Masters Jr born on December 22nd 1973. however Angela began to notice that her boyfriend was taking a special interest in Jennifer talking to her in a flirtatious manner she also allegedly overheard Ricky talking to Jennifer on the phone proclaiming his undying love for her Ricky would later confess that he had loved Jennifer and that she loved him too allegedly Jennifer rode the bus to his apartment to meet with him in secret and Carry On An Intimate affair while Angela was out however Angela had some idea what was going on and hatched
a plan to get back at her friend after conspiring with others in the group she invited Jennifer to a sleepover and Jennifer excitedly agreed however fun and games was not what Angela had in mind on February 10 2010 Jennifer told her parents that she planned on going to her friend’s apartment in Greensburg for a sleepover as everyone lived with Ricky she wasn’t about to tell her parents that she was staying at a guy’s place so she claimed it was her friend Peggy’s Apartments this also worked out as she’d be traveling in that direction anyway
for a scheduled appointment seeing this is another opportunity to assert her independence her family was all for it by the time Jennifer was getting ready to leave her mother was already at work so she left a handwritten note with Peggy’s contact information in case of an emergency and a thoughtful message that read I hope that you will have a good day at work and I also love you very much her stepfather Bobby dropped her off at the bus stop Jennifer kissed him on the cheek before saying her final goodbyes the last message she posted to
her Myspace and Twitter accounts was this is my time to make a new start for myself and making new friends and not being afraid of anything upon arriving in Greensburg she was met by Amber Melvin and Ricky who took her back to their green two-story apartment building just a half a mile away there she was greeted by the remaining members of the group Angela Peggy and Robert almost as soon as Jennifer entered the apartment things took a horrific turn it should be noted that many Publications have covered Jennifer’s
story in great detail with slightly different accounts of what happened over the next 36 hours with that being said I don’t know if anyone can correctly convey the level of depravity that took place next upon entering the apartment the group began taunting Jennifer which would have been terribly confusing as these were supposed to be her friends they rummaged through her purse and took her money gift cards and cell phone after which they ruined it by pouring water all over the remaining contents then things turned physical Amber and
Angela took turns beating Jennifer with the towel bar crutches a 2-liter bottle full of lemonade and a vacuum cleaner hose all the while the helpless woman had no idea why this was happening to her to add insult to injury the group held her down and repeatedly stomped on her chest and stomach they also forced Jennifer to consume an array of liquids such as vegetable oil laundry detergent urine and nail polish she was also made to eat feces which they forced down her throat these same substances were poured over her head along with porridge oats
and spices she had begged her friends to stop because she was in such pain and her eyes were burning but the group refused to stop Jennifer tried hard to fight back and managed to punch Amber in the stomach Amber as we mentioned earlier was pregnant at the time her Earnest attempt at defending herself against her attackers only escalated matters Jennifer was bound with strings of Christmas light so she could no longer fight back unable to move the group humiliated Jennifer further by shaving her head bald and painting her face with nail
polish if this wasn’t already enough Melvin decided that he needed to take things up a notch by stripping Jennifer of all of her clothes gagging her then essaying her while the others watched and taunted her further after going through unimaginable suffering she was told to take a shower because she smelled bad when the group grew bored of tormenting Jennifer the following morning they decided that the only option was to kill her they couldn’t let her go home and run the risk of her reporting what had transpired in Ricky’s apartment
the group took a vote on the matter and all six agreed that Jennifer had to die as such they forced the scared woman to write a page-long note that implied that she had decided to take her own life the note written in cursive read I haven’t been happy for a while and I also feel like everybody would be better without me on this Earth I will always love my mom and stepdad no matter what and I will always love the rest of my family also my nieces and nephew would be lucky to have her better aunt than me I am done with life goodbye Jennifer
Jennifer was given sleeping pills and antibiotics and she begged to be allowed to go home but it was all for naught Jennifer was stabbed in the chest and lungs by Melvin Knight according to Melvin quote Ricky got a knife and told me to stab her and then I stabbed her in the chest three times end quote however Jennifer managed to survive this attack upon noticing this Ricky allegedly exclaimed dang this just still alive Ricky then grabbed the knife and slit Jennifer’s wrists still clinging to life the men then
choked Jennifer with the Christmas lights that she had been bound by in a final Act of depravity the group decorated Jennifer’s dead body to look like a Christmas tree allegedly Angela became enraged because the lights weren’t flashing as such she decided that they needed to dump her body now let that sink in for a second what if the lights had worked what were they going to do were they going to keep Jennifer on display in their home for a Time although that might seem Macabre after all that Jennifer endured nothing would
surprise me anymore after removing the lights and stuffing the note in Jennifer’s back pocket the group who would soon become known as the Greensburg six stuffed her body inside of a trash can it was left under a truck in the snow-covered parking lot of Greensburg Salem Middle School located just a block away a truck driver noticed the trash can in the parking lot while driving and decided to investigate further doing so he discovered Jennifer’s body inside although it is a tragedy for anyone to come across such a horrific scene
the Silver Lining here is that an adult managed to find Jennifer rather than a child on their way to school it was not long before police realized who had committed such heinous acts upon Jennifer all six were arrested and they quickly began to talk at the start of the trial on November 3rd 2010 the prosecution sought the death penalty for Ricky Melvin and Amber as Angela was 17 years old at the time she was ineligible at trial forensic Pathologists and former Allegheny County coroner Cyril H wecht who conducted and
reviewed thousands of autopsies on homicide victims stated quote this is one of the most horrific cases I have seen you have one young defenseless woman six people who are keeping her captive and doing all of these things knowing that she is mentally challenged put it all together it is bizarre it is Extreme barbarism end quote on April 12 2012 Melvin Knight pled guilty to first and second degree homicide kidnapping and conspiracy to commit homicide and kidnapping it was also reported that upon hearing his confession tape played
in the courtroom he laughed out loud in response on August 30th of the same year a jury deliberated for several hours before voting to put nelvin to death in September of 2014 Melvin appealed his sentence his trial was delayed several times and his sentence was upheld in March of 2019.
in November of 2020 he attempted to appeal his sentence via the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania the appeal included statements and claims that jurors acted with passion and Prejudice and arbitrarily imposed the death penalty however it was unanimously rejected by the judges according to Chief Justice Deborah Todd quote following our thorough review of the record in this case we conclude that the appellant sentence of death was not the product of passion Prejudice or any other arbitrary Factor but rather was fully supported by the evidence that
night and his co-defendants held the intellectually disabled victim against her will for several days during which they continuously subjected her to Myriad forms of physical and emotional torture eventually stabbing her in the chest slicing her throat and strangling her end quote on February 28 2013 Ricky smerns was sentenced to death he appealed his sentence but in February of 2017 it was upheld his execution was delayed in July of 2017.
it is unlikely that neither Melvin nor Ricky will ever meet the gurney needle an execution has not been carried out in Pennsylvania since 1999 and that’s of serial killer Gary heidnick as we shared with you in our der Isabel Baez case only three executions have been carried out since 1976 due to a moratorium put in place in 2015.
as we also noted previously this does not stop death sentences from being issued even today both men are currently being held in the State Correctional Institution Phoenix on December 4 th 2013 Amber Christine meidinger was sentenced to 40 to 80 years in prison after pleading guilty to third degree homicide kidnapping and conspiracy while awaiting trial she gave birth to her baby who was placed in foster care she almost received the death penalty until she agreed to testify against the others in November of 2019 Amber filed paperwork with the state’s Board of
Pardons seeking early termination of her prison sentence she is currently being held in the State Correctional Institution Muncie the police did not accuse Robert Masters and Peggy Miller of participating in the entire Act of torture and killing of Jennifer however the evidence from confessional tapes suggests that they were part of the meetings in which the whole ordeal was planned they had also voted for Jennifer to be killed in addition it was alleged that Robert and Peggy had been left alone with Jennifer
while the other four left the apartment for a while Robert claimed that he helped retrieve her clothes that Melvin and Ricky had stripped from her and tossed out of the window on the first day of the beatings during this time Jennifer begged for them to let her go or to call for help but they didn’t and they’re in action directly led to her death their lawyers attempted to argue that they were scared of the others and feared that they too would be killed if they did not go along with the plan the couple made tearful pleas for leniency
with Robert stating quote I was scared for my life I should have done something but I didn’t because I was scared can the family forgive me end quote and Peggy stating quote I am sorry and I am guilty she was my friend and I should not have voted for her to Die end quote Jennifer’s family blamed Peggy heavily claiming that Jennifer told them she was going to spend the night with her and her friends in Greensburg Jennifer’s family requested that both Peggy and Robert receive lengthy sentences Jennifer’s stepfather Bobby Murphy made
an emotional request quote the same way they chose not to show compassion to Jennifer I ask you not to show compassion to them end quote Jennifer’s sister Joy Burkholder had pointed words directed at Peggy quote you had my sister as a friend she loved Miller and valued her you didn’t value her you probably value a hairbrush more than you value her end quote Robert Lauren Masters Jr the eldest of the group pled guilty to third degree homicide conspiracy to commit homicide and conspiracy to commit kidnapping on
December 19 2013. he was sentenced to 30 to 70 years in prison his attorney William gallashin helped him reach a plea bargain against the other five after he agreed Robert was moved to another jail for protection he did not publicly share any information related to the plea bargain he is currently being held in the State Correctional Institution green Peggy Darlene Miller was sentenced to 35 to 74 years in prison she is currently being held at the State Correctional Institution Muncie several neighbors and follow inmates
testified against Angela claiming that she had planned to kill Jennifer several days before her body was discovered neighbor Anthony zappone heard Angela say I’m going to kill that [ __ ] Tina Warwick testified that Angela told her that she was disappointed with the types of Christmas decorations that Peggy had purchased to tie Jennifer up with Gloria Heaton heard body slamming and screaming Felicia Hardison who was a cellmate and friend to Angela testified that she was jumping on her bed excited to be on the
news on August 3rd 2011 Angela marinucci the youngest of the group was formally given a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole after being found guilty in May of first-degree homicide she later had her life without possibility of parole sentence revoked however on July 1st 2015 a jury decided to re-sentence her to her previous sentence finally in May of 2022 Angela was re-sentenced to 60 years to life with parole eligibility in 2070.
she is currently being held in the State Correctional Institution Cambridge Springs Jennifer’s sister Joy Burkholder said after sentencing quote my biggest regret was forcing Jennifer to act as an adult I would go back and do many things differently end quote she also noted that quote Jennifer was exploited and her kindness and her handicap made her very vulnerable end quote outside of the Court Bobby Jennifer’s stepfather said quote closure is Jennifer coming back to us and Jennifer won’t come back so there is no closure
end quote according to Jennifer’s parents whatever happened to her could not be justified in any way she did not have a single mean bone in her body Jennifer’s Memorial Services were held at Capital graph funeral home located at 524 North Main Street in Greensburg sadly the funeral home was located just around the block from where Jennifer met her untimely fate Jennifer’s family requested no flowers but instead Memorial contributions could be made to one’s favorite charity on April 23 2012 at a conference Pennsylvania state senator Kim Ward
proposed a legislation named Jennifer’s law the legislation would require the reporting of a violent crime to law enforcement officials immediately failure to report the crime would be a misdemeanor in the third degree the individual would not be required to report it immediately it would place the person in immediate physical harm Jennifer’s family was on hand as the legislation was announced her sister Joy shared this emotional statement quote over the course of 30 plus hours six people had the opportunity to help
my sister and nobody did legally they didn’t have to it seems wrong to me that you can be a spectator during a murder and not be responsible to intervene in any way I know my sister is not coming back and we accept this however this law could and will save lives end quote according to Senator Ward quote it is heartbreaking to think of what Jennifer went through and the fact that one phone call to police might have put an end to these cruel crimes sometimes Society has to compel people to do the right thing this legislation is aimed at preventing
further tragedies end quote she went on to State quote since 1973 11 states have enacted statutes requiring some form of Aid or assistance when witnessing a violent crime by making Pennsylvania the 12th state we can make a statement in Jennifer’s memory we can say the world may be cold but we do not live in a heartless Society we do not look on while evil is perpetrated we are better than that end quote everyone wanted an update on Prada she’s doing very well I want to say thank you to everybody that supported us
and her when she was going through her medical emergency last year I’m can confidently say that without all of your help I wouldn’t be holding her right now so thank you
