Adam Leroy Lane

Adam Leroy Lane
Adam Leroy Lane
	Booking photo c. 2008
Born	Adam Leroy Lane; August 7, 1964; Jonesville, North Carolina, United States
Other names	Highway Killer
Spouse(s)	Miriam M. Benge (div. 1993); Regina Lane
Conviction(s)	1 count of Assault; 2 counts of murder;
Criminal penalty	25 – 30 years for Assault in Massachusetts; 50 years for murder in New Jersey; Life imprisonment for murder in Pennsylvania;
Details
Victims	2+
Span of crimes	2007–
Country	United States
State(s)	Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts
Date apprehended	30 July 2007
Imprisoned at	State Correctional Institution, Fayette County, Pennsylvania

Adam Leroy Lane (born August 6, 1964) is a convicted murderer and serial killer who was dubbed the Highway Killer because his crimes took place near the highway, which he frequently traveled due to his job as a trucker.

Murders

Lane committed the murders while he made his way through the Northeast during the summer of 2007. He had a DVD in his truck of the 2002 horror film Hunting Humans, about a serial murderer who stalks his victims before killing them. He also carried two knives and choke wire.[1]

His first known victim was Darlene Ewalt, who lived near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She was stabbed and killed on 13 July 2007.[2] At the time, she was talking on the telephone in the backyard. Lane stabbed her to death while her family was inside the house.

Lane's second victim was a woman named Patricia Brooks, whom he stabbed on 17 July 2007 in York County, Pennsylvania. She survived.[2]

His third victim was a woman in New Jersey by the name of Monica Massaro. He stabbed and killed her a day before he committed his final crime.[2]

His final crime transpired when he made a stop on I-495 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, broke into a house on 30 July 2007, and attacked a 15-year-old girl with a knife. Her parents awoke to the sounds of her struggling. Her 135-pound mother and 160-pound father were able to subdue the 245-pound Lane and wrestle the knife he was carrying away from him, though the mother suffered knife cuts. Chelmsford Police were contacted, arrived at the scene, and arrested him.[1][2]

While it has been speculated by law enforcement authorities that he has been involved with other murders in other parts of the country due to his extensive trucking routes, this has not been proven. He has refused to comment to police or the general public about this speculation.

Investigation

Lane was linked to Ewalt by DNA on his knife. He was linked to Brooks similarly.[2][3] Police also discovered gloves with his DNA and one of his victim's blood.[4]

Trials and imprisonment

Lane received a 25–30 year sentence in Massachusetts for the attack on the teenage girl.[2]

New Jersey sentenced him to 50 years for the murder of Monica Massaro.[5]

In Pennsylvania, Lane pleaded guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced to 10–20 years for the attempted murder of the woman in York County, and to life for the murder of Darlene Ewalt.[5] He is serving his sentences in State Correctional Institution – Fayette.

In the media

The story has been presented in the Dateline NBC series (original air date 3 August 2009)[6] and 48 Hours Mystery episode, "Live to Tell: Hunting Humans" (original air date 26 February 2011),[7] and episode 2, season 1, of Nightmare Next Door and the episode 5, season 7, of Castle. Also, it was featured in Readers Digest July 2011 in an article entitled "Caught in the Act." Also in Season 1 of The Coroner: I Speak for the Dead, episode 2 titled "Call the Coroner" (original air date 25 July 2016).

gollark: ```pythonfrom z3 import *iters = [ Int(f"x{i}") for i in range(40) ]solver = Solver()for n,x in enumerate(iters): if n == 0: solver.add(x == 1111111) else: last = iters[n - 1] solver.add(Or(x == last, (x * 2) == last, x == ((last * 3) + 1)))solver.add(iters[-1] == 1)print(solver.check())print(solver.model())```This is the *best* way to do collatz.

gollark: It's a theorem prover. It can tell you if certain statements/sets of statements are satisfiable, and if so how.

gollark: And I don't think rust does TCO in general.

gollark: Halting is a side effect though.

gollark: Hmm, I wonder if I can horribly abuse z3 for collatz like I abused it for mazes.

References

Tresniowski, Alex (3 March 2008). "How They Caught a Killer". People. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
Hepp, Rick. "Trucker charged in Hunterdon killing hated women, those who knew him say". nj.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
Ortega, Ralph R.; Rick Hepp; Patti Sapone (4 October 2008). "Trucker tells how he killed woman in Bloomsbury". nj.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
"Adam Leroy Lane Case Update". Investigation Discovery. 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
"Life sentence for trucker in women's deaths in Pa". philly.com. Associated Press. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
"A Stranger in the House". Dateline NBC. NBC. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
"Family under attack stops serial killer". 48 Hours Mystery. CBS News. 3 December 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2012.