March 12, 1976 started out as a pretty normal Friday for the Abt family, as they headed to school and work.
But five days later, five of their bodies would be in caskets at St. Dominic Church for a viewing, funeral Mass and burial in the parish cemetery.
Former newspaper reporter Kathryn Canavan was there on the night of the murder through a trial that ended in a death penalty verdict, and she has captured those moments in A Killer in the House, published last month to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the crime.
Canavan, who was a 25-year-old reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times in those days, reviewed police notes, autopsy records, school records, prison records, court transcripts, newspaper accounts and the killer’s own detailed confession in writing the book. She also interviewed some of the people still alive who played a role in the drama of late winter 1976.
“It was like going back in a time machine,” she said of her research.
Jack and Peggy Abt were married in 1951 at St. Dominic Church in Holmesburg. They later had five children – three boys and two girls – and lived in an apartment near Northeast Philadelphia Airport before moving to Trevose.
As the book recounts, Jack and Peggy and three of their children, along with one of their daughter’s boyfriend (Gary Engle) and the family St. Bernard, were killed at 3711 Fleetwood Ave. Two of the sons were spared, as one was late getting home and the other was in jail.
Bensalem Township Patrolman Dave Clee, who lived on the block and was on his way home for a dinner break, discovered the bodies. Meanwhile, his wife, Donna, took in a despondent 21-year-old Michael Abt, who had arrived home to find blood.
The other surviving family member, 23-year-old Clifford, was at Bucks County Prison.
Police were concerned for the two survivors’ safety, since it appeared the killer targeted the whole family, so Clifford’s attorney, former state Sen. Bob Rovner, had him relocated to a holding cell in Bensalem for protection.
As it turned out, the killer, 24-year-old George Geschwendt, lived right across the street and was especially targeting Clifford and Michael, his former friends, due to a personal vendetta. He was in the Abt house all day.
Canavan, who didn’t live too far from the crime scene, was outside the house that night, but at the time police would say only that they were conducting an investigation. The Courier Times did not have a Saturday edition – and there was no internet – so Canavan did not really miss a scoop.
As the investigation was ongoing, the funeral for the Abt family took place on March 17 at St. Dominic. Police provided protection for Clifford and Michael. The author wrote that it was a “cheerless Saint Patrick’s Day.”
The Rev. Richard Farrant was a cousin of Peggy Abt, who worked at the old IRS building at Comly Road and Roosevelt Boulevard. Farrant married Jack and Peggy and celebrated the family funeral Mass, calling the episode “our Friday night massacre” during his homily.
The John F. Fluehr & Sons holy cards read, “In Loving Memory of John F. Abt Sr., Margaret A. Abt, Margaret M. Abt, John F. Abt Jr., Kathleen Abt. Died March 12, 1976.”
Johnny and Kathy Abt’s Neil Armstrong Middle School classmates were pallbearers, later placing green and white carnations on their caskets before they were lowered into the ground.
“Walking in and seeing all those coffins, I was stunned by those coffins,” Canavan said. “I sat behind Clifford and (his fiancee) Shelly. He looked bereft.”
Dave Clee was assigned to record the gathering for the burial in case the suspect was in attendance.
“I videotaped everything. I don’t know if George ever showed,” said Clee, who still lives on Fleetwood Avenue.
The case was ultimately solved in 10 days thanks to two kids finding the murder weapon while fishing, the false report of a stolen gun and some crafty interrogation techniques.
On the night of the murders, Detective Bob Eckert began conducting interviews.
“It was all hands on deck, guys working around the clock,” said Eckert, now living in Florida.
Among those he interviewed was the man who would ultimately be charged. Eckert recalls Geschwendt being a little weird.
“Then, lo and behold, George’s name comes up on the stolen gun list,” Eckert said.
Geschwendt made the mistake of not throwing the gun deep enough in Neshaminy Creek after the murders.
“I think he could have gotten away with it. He could have pulled it off,” Clee said.
The case was solved in a little more than a week with no forensics.
“What a strange, strange case,” Eckert said. “I’m glad we were able to close it as quickly as we did. There was a lot of good police work.”
Canavan dedicated the book to “Jack and Peggy Abt and all parents like them who are devoted to their children, work long hours to support them and still find time to love outwardly by volunteering in their communities.”
The author thanked a lot of people in the book, including the Rev. Brian Connolly, pastor of St. Dominic, and Cheryl Viscomi and Colette McCaffrey, of the cemetery office, for helping her find the Abt graves.
“I felt good about finishing the book because I thought there were so many people who were unsung heroes. The police solving it in 10 days and the Abts’ friends who really moved in to help them,” she said.
Oddly, there was another celebrated murder in Bucks County on the same day as the Abt killings. A 77-year-old couple, Ed and Marguerite Vogenberger, were tortured with a stun gun, then shot to death in their Langhorne home. The case remains unsolved.
As for the Abt killings, the house at 3711 Fleetwood Ave. remains, under different owners.
Michael Abt lives in Bucks County.
Clifford Abt died in 1989.
George Geschwendt died in 2020 at a Wayne County prison.
And Kathryn Canavan lives in Delaware, writing about true crimes, including A Killer in the House.
“I thought about the title for so long,” she said. “It was truly descriptive of what happened.” ••
Canavan will be holding a book signing on Saturday, March 14, from noon to 2 p.m., at the Barnes & Noble at 210 Commerce Blvd., Fairless Hills.
To buy the book, go to https://www.brooklinebooks.com/9781955041669/killer-in-the-house/ or amazon.com.
To report any information on the unsolved killings of Ed and Marguerite Vogenberger, call Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354.
