FILE 405 / 13 July 2023 / 178 MIN / full

The Horny Teacher's Lounge

Upper Merion Township, PennsylvaniaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

This is Upper Marion township, Pennsylvania ... This is in Montgomery County. about 0:06:33

History, in brief

1713

The incorporation of the township dates to 1713, more than fifty years before the American Revolution.

about 0:06:42

Town note

Townships were required at that point to pay six shillings to the Pennsylvania legislature for licences.

about 0:06:58

1719

The King of Prussia Inn was built in 1719 and James believes the structure is still standing.

about 0:07:32

Town note

The inn was named in honour of Frederick the Great and became a centre of food and drink during the Revolutionary War.

about 0:07:40
All 6 history facts

1713

The incorporation of the township dates to 1713, more than fifty years before the American Revolution.

about 0:06:42

Town note

Townships were required at that point to pay six shillings to the Pennsylvania legislature for licences.

about 0:06:58

1719

The King of Prussia Inn was built in 1719 and James believes the structure is still standing.

about 0:07:32

Town note

The inn was named in honour of Frederick the Great and became a centre of food and drink during the Revolutionary War.

about 0:07:40

Town note

An alternate story says the inn was first called Berry's Tavern and got its name to lure in Prussian mercenaries, who were big spenders.

about 0:07:49

Town note

There is a town called King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, near Upper Merion.

about 0:06:53

The figures, as told

Religious

64.3%

Biggest faith: Catholic residents, 38.5%

about 0:14:55

Who lives here

White 70% · Black 4.8% · Asian 18.5% · Hispanic 3.8%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
▲ high by at least a third

about 0:25:11

Violent crime
▼ less than half the national average

about 0:25:14

Cash stolen from the Sears store in St David's
$34,073

about 1:12:02

Money Joseph Wambaugh offered a state trooper for information
$50,000

about 2:39:18

Money

Median home value$451,700
Two-bedroom rent$1,470
Median household income$80,006
Cost of living113

For sale

$199,000

Asking price, four-bedroom two-bath house

about 0:17:47

For sale

$1,195,000

Asking price, four-bedroom five-bath house

about 0:18:35

For sale

$2,500,000

Asking price, six-bedroom five-bath house

about 0:19:28
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2023

Population

"33,153"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:43

Median age

"40.7"

Comparison: "a little bit higher than average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:54

Married residents

"57%"

Comparison: "a little above the national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:13:58

White residents

"70%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:21

Black residents

"4.8%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:21

Asian residents

"18.5%"

Comparison: "very high for any American town". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:21

Hispanic residents

"3.8%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:50

Montgomery County vote, Democratic

"62.4%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:28

Montgomery County vote, Republican

"36.2%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:36

Montgomery County vote, independent

"1.4%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:36

Religious residents

"64.3%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:14:55

Catholic residents

"38.5%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:06

Jewish residents

"4.3%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:11

Median household income

"$80,006"

Comparison: "higher than the $54,000 average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:50

Cost of living index

"113"

Comparison: "100 is average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:15:55

Median home cost

"$451,700"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:16:16

Average two-bedroom rent

"$1,470"

Comparison: "a little bit high". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:16:56

Asking price, four-bedroom two-bath house

"$199,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:17:47

Asking price, four-bedroom five-bath house

"$1,195,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:18:35

Asking price, six-bedroom five-bath house

"$2,500,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 0:19:28

Property crime

"high by at least a third"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2023 about 0:25:11

Violent crime

"less than half the national average"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: below.

As told in 2023 about 0:25:14

Cash stolen from the Sears store in St David's

"$34,073"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 1:12:02

Life insurance taken out by Susan Reinert

"$250,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 1:38:12

Value of Susan Reinert's estate if she died

"$1.1 million"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 1:39:31

Estate money allocated to the search for the children

"$36,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 2:21:19

Money Joseph Wambaugh offered a state trooper for information

"$50,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2023 about 2:39:18

The reviews

3.0 / 5 · average of 5

5 stars

“There is no place like Upper Merion: the schools are exceptional and the people who make up the community truly care about each other, with residents willing to do anything to help their neighbours.”
about 0:08:20

4 stars

“Traffic is rough and the area is being built up quickly, but housing and family living are wonderful; it still manages to keep a small-town feeling even though it is far from a small-town area.”
about 0:09:44

3 stars

“The township needs better public transport, with more bus routes and an expanded train system, so residents have better access to jobs, education and other essential services.”
about 0:09:59

2 stars

“A numbered list of the bad parts: Swedesburg, King's Manor, Valley Forge Homes, Brandywine Village, Swedland and Hughes Park, Sweetbriar and Bridgeport; the writer grew up in Sweetbriar around 611, saw friends die, and says the schools had good academics but bad safety and embarrassing teachers.”
about 0:10:22

1 star

“The place is suspicious, the schools have a lot of drama, there is a good amount of crime, litter and traffic.”
about 0:13:03

In Pennsylvania

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  4. Strange Affairs & Frozen BloodPottstown, Pennsylvania · 9 October 202529 km / 18 miShow on map
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The story

Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, lies in Montgomery County, about fifty minutes from Philadelphia and about fifty-five minutes from Folcroft.

Susan Reinert was born Susan Gallagher in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, on 1 September 1942. Her mother was a schoolteacher and Susan followed her into teaching, taking a degree in English and a master's degree from Penn State in 1966. She met Kenneth Reinert at college while he was serving in the Air Force, and they married in 1965. The family moved from Sacramento to Rome, New York, and to Puerto Rico before returning to the Philadelphia area in 1971, when Kenneth left the Air Force. Their daughter Karen was born in 1968 and their son Michael in 1969. Susan began teaching English at Upper Merion High School in 1971 and was popular with staff and pupils. She and Kenneth separated in 1974 and divorced in March 1976, amicably, and she moved to Ardmore with the children.

He had two failed marriages and three sons, and he told everyone that he would never marry again. In practice he maintained several long-term relationships at once, including one with a fellow English teacher, Sue Myers, who lived with him. A former colleague said he charmed her into an affair and that he was involved with three or four other women at the same time. He was described as ruggedly handsome and scholarly, with a hypnotic effect on women. Susan, according to her friends, began an affair with him within a couple of years of starting at the school, while she was still married to Kenneth.

He wore ill-fitting black suits bought at the Salvation Army, told long jokes over the school public address system and was known for letting discipline slide. His wife, Stephanina, worked in a dry cleaners and was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in the mid-1970s. While she was in and out of hospital she kept a diary, recording that her husband had become involved in group sex and swinging, that he subscribed to swinger magazines and that he collected pornography with a strong interest in bestiality. She died of cancer in August 1979.

Stephanie was known to Philadelphia police as a sex worker and Eddie was on probation for an armed robbery. In 1978 they vanished without warning, leaving their clothes, luggage and toothbrushes behind.

In the meantime a man posing as a Brink's courier robbed the Sears store in St David's on 27 August 1977, taking $34,073 in cash. On 17 December 1977 a second attempt at the Sears store at the Neshaminy Mall failed when a forged courier card and signature did not match. Police found four loaded handguns in his car, along with a hood mask, bolt cutters and a syringe filled with tranquiliser, and at his home they found three pounds of marijuana, illegal pills, four gallons of nitric acid stolen from the school, stolen office equipment, Brink's badges and uniforms, stolen Army ID cards, silencers and a large collection of pornography.

In June she bought two more policies, for $150,000 and $100,000, bringing her estate if she died to $1.1 million.

On Friday 22 June 1979, in a heavy hail storm, Susan and her two children left their Ardmore home at about nine in the evening. A neighbour heard the telephone ring and saw them hurry to the car, and later heard the distinctive ignition of Susan's orange-red Plymouth Horizon at about half past ten before the car disappeared. He then collected Papis and drove to the shore, arriving at the Airloom Apartments in Cape May at about five in the morning.

On Monday 25 June 1979, at about 5.30 in the morning, an anonymous caller with what sounded like a Spanish accent told 911 that there was a sick woman in the Host Inn parking lot near Harrisburg. Police found Susan's body in the hatchback of her car, which had been left open. She had been beaten all over, stripped, bound with chains and tape placed over her mouth, and the autopsy suggested she had lived for twenty-four to thirty-six hours after the initial beating. The children were missing. Police searched babysitters, friends and family and found no trace of them. In the car were fibres, a partial fingerprint, a comb marked 79th Army Reserve Command in Norristown and a rubber dildo that did not belong to Susan.

When Susan's friend Sharon Lee called him in New Mexico and asked about the children, he replied, "The children? Oh yes, the children. How old were the children?"

Investigation showed that Susan had cancelled her conference plans, that the home was untouched and the children's clothes were laid out ready for packing, and that Kenneth Reinert had no motive.

The prosecutor, Richard Guida, had also resigned in disgrace after being imprisoned for cocaine distribution.

Among his possessions was a photograph, developed in 1986, of a distinctive stone in a wooded area, which investigators thought might mark the children's grave. Karen and Michael Reinert were never found. Stephanie and Eddie Hunsburger were never found either. As of 2020 the case remained open, with a state trooper saying there was a possibility, perhaps a probability, of a third person involved.

The case

Murder of Susan Reinert, Karen Reinert and Michael Reinert

Victims

Susan Reinert (36). Born Susan Gallagher on September 1, 1942, in Ridgway, Pennsylvania; English teacher at Upper Merion High School, divorced from Kenneth Reinert, mother of Karen and Michael.
Karen Reinert (11). Susan's daughter, born in 1968; disappeared with her mother and brother and was never found.
Michael Reinert (10). Susan's son, born in 1969; a baseball-playing boy who liked creative writing; disappeared with his mother and sister and was never found.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 13 July 2023.

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Sue Myers. Fellow English teacher and live-in girlfriend, who shared a bank account with him and once physically attacked Susan out of jealousy.
Vincent Valaitis. Fellow teacher and friend, who provided his alibi for the Cape May weekend and later told the FBI what had said.
Christopher Papis. Substitute teacher, former pupil and wrestler of , who helped recover the $25,000 and later gave evidence about stories.
Sharon Lee. Susan's friend, who telephoned in New Mexico after the body was found and disliked his response about the children.
Patrick Gallagher. Susan's older brother, who with Kenneth Reinert contested the will and sought funds to search for the children.
Florence and John Reinert. Susan's former in-laws, with whom she spoke on the last evening and discussed the petrol in her car.
John Holtz. Pennsylvania state trooper from the Harrisburg barracks who worked the case and was later found to have been paid $50,000 by Joseph Wambaugh.
Joseph Wambaugh. Author of Echoes in the Darkness, who covered the case, paid a trooper for information and was later sued by .
Joanne Aitken. long-term love interest, who shared a bank account from which estate money was taken in 1996.

The timeline

  1. 1928 is bornabout 0:54:24
  2. 1933 is born, about nine years before Susanabout 0:33:09
  3. September 1, 1942 Susan Gallagher is born in Ridgway, Pennsylvania (Ridgway)about 0:26:10
  4. 1965 Susan Gallagher and Kenneth Reinert marryabout 0:27:46
  5. 1966 Susan receives a master's degree in English from Penn State (Penn State)about 0:27:30
  6. 1968 Daughter Karen is bornabout 0:28:54
  7. 1969 Son Michael is bornabout 0:28:54
  8. 1971 Kenneth leaves the Air Force, the family settles in Pennsylvania and Susan begins teaching English at Upper Merion High School (Upper Merion High School)about 0:32:18
  9. 1974 Susan and Kenneth separateabout 0:50:36
  10. March 1976 The Reinerts' divorce is finalisedabout 1:09:46
  11. August 27, 1977 A fake Brink's courier robs the Sears store in St David's of $34,073 in cash (Sears store, St. David's)about 1:09:50
  12. September 1977 Stephanie and Eddie Hunsburger move into the house in King of Prussia ( house)about 1:03:11
  13. December 17, 1977 A second Sears robbery is foiled at the Neshaminy Mall when a courier's forged ID and signature do not match (Sears, Neshaminy Mall)about 1:12:50
  14. 1978 Stephanie and Eddie Hunsburger disappear without warning, leaving all their belongings behind ( house)about 1:04:17
  15. October 27, 1978 Susan's mother dies, leaving her $30,000 in cash, a $15,000 wedding ring and property worth $200,000about 1:23:13
  16. December 1978 Susan applies for $500,000 of life insurance naming as beneficiary; the company refuses, saying it would overinsure her lifeabout 1:32:46
  17. February 1979 Susan withdraws $25,000 in cash from her account at the King of Prussia Continental Bank in $5,000 instalments (King of Prussia Continental Bank)about 1:36:55
  18. March 4, 1979 Susan changes her will, removing her children and brother as beneficiaries and leaving as sole beneficiaryabout 1:38:29
  19. March 1979 Susan tells friends that has proposed and that she has given him her mother's $15,000 ring to be resetabout 1:33:37
  20. June 1979 Susan buys two more insurance policies, for $150,000 and $100,000, bringing her estate if she dies to $1.1 millionabout 1:39:19

Disappearance of Stephanie and Eddie Hunsburger

Victims

Stephanie Hunsburger. daughter, a heroin addict and sex worker known to Philadelphia police; she moved back into her parents' house with her husband and vanished.
Edward "Eddie" Hunsburger. Stephanie's husband, a heroin addict on active probation for an armed robbery two years earlier; he vanished with her.

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 13 July 2023.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Pete and Dorothy Hunsburger. Eddie's parents, who reported the couple missing and were told by that they had gone to California.

The timeline

  1. mid-1970s Stephanina is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancerabout 1:01:15
  2. September 1977 Stephanie and Eddie Hunsburger move into the house in King of Prussia because they have nowhere else to go ( house)about 1:02:51
  3. 1978 The couple disappear without warning, leaving clothing, luggage, toothbrushes and everything else behind ( house)about 1:04:17
  4. August 1979 Stephanina dies of cancerabout 2:14:39
  5. 1980-1981 Investigators discover that has been fraudulently cashing the couple's welfare cheques since they disappearedabout 2:19:31
  6. 2020 The couple have still never been foundabout 2:46:24

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode