New Castle’s Kadunce Murders: Mystery and the Devil in Northwest Pennsylvania
Author | : Dale Richard Perelman |
Publisher | : Arcadia Publishing |
Total Pages | : 208 |
Release | : 2019 |
ISBN-10 | : 9781467144025 |
ISBN-13 | : 1467144029 |
Rating | : 4/5 (25 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: In the summer of 1978, a mother and her four-year-old were stabbed to death in the quiet town of New Castle. Police suspected the husband, Lou Kadunce, but were unable to find either a weapon or a motive. Sitting in a Lawrence County jail in 1981, convicted serial killer Michael Atkinson accused Frank Costal--a carny, petty thief and Satanist--of having an affair with the Kadunce husband and participating in the murder. A series of intense trials ensued as Costal was convicted of the homicides and a jury found the husband not guilty. Questions surrounding the case gripped the region and grabbed headlines in the Pittsburgh Press. Author Dale Richard Perelman tells this tragic story.