WHO KILLED JONATHAN BALESTER? MURDER FOR PROFIT IN SHAVERTOWN

It’s an ordinary Thursday night in Shavertown, Pennsylvania — until a family member walks through an unlocked door and finds the lights on… a ceiling fan still spinning… and a trail of blood cutting through the house like a roadmap of violence.

At the end of that trail is 56-year-old Jonathan Balester, stabbed repeatedly in the back inside his own home. No forced entry. No robbery. Just brutal, personal violence in a quiet neighborhood where residents said “nothing ever happens.”

Jonathan wasn’t just a name in a case file. He was a longtime local businessman, deeply rooted in the community — a man who opened his doors to people trying to get their lives back on track, taught Bible studies at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, and even cared for stray cats.

For 14 years, investigators stayed tight-lipped and the case went cold. The family believed they knew who did it. Police said they had a suspect. Still — no arrest.

Then everything changed.

In a major break, Pennsylvania State Police arrested 69-year-old Frederick Balester and charged him with criminal homicide. Authorities allege the motive was “murder for profit,” tied to the attempted sale of the family business — and that evidence reexamined years later finally helped crack the case.

Content warning: graphic violence and murder.

WHAT YOU’LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

• The chilling discovery inside 137 North Lehigh Street — lights on, door unlocked, blood trail through the home
• Why “no forced entry” immediately changed the suspect pool
• What we know about Jonathan’s last 48 hours — and why investigators begged the public to help fill in the blanks
• How the case stayed cold for 14 years despite evidence collection and public appeals
• The forensic and investigative developments that led to an arrest — and why prosecutors say it was murder for profit

Have a tip or case suggestion? crimerypod@gmail.com
Host: Jennifer Novotney
Show: CRIMERY