In the quiet of an autumn afternoon in Lower Towamensing Township, Pennsylvania, a domestic tragedy unfolded that would irrevocably alter the course of a family's life. On October 5, 2020, 31-year-old Laura Jean Else, a loving mother and daughter, died tragically from a gunshot wound. The incident, which occurred at her home on Forest Inn Road in Aquashicola, brought a sudden and violent end to a life that had been dedicated to her family and her artistic passions.
The events of that day
were set in motion by a heated argument between Laura and her husband, Keith Robert Else, then 38. The couple was facing financial difficulties and the stress of needing to find a new home, which had led to increased tension and arguments. During this final, fatal dispute, which turned physical, Keith Else retrieved a handgun. He would later claim to police that the gun accidentally discharged as he was trying to hand it to his wife. However, the investigation by the Pennsylvania State Police uncovered inconsistencies in his account of what happened.
The aftermath of the shooting was immediate and devastating. Keith Else himself called the Carbon County Communications Center to report that his wife had been shot. Laura was airlifted from the Palmerton High School lot to St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, but her injuries were too severe, and she was pronounced dead. The couple's three children were present in the house at the time of the shooting, and tragically, their 8-year-old daughter witnessed the horrific event. She later recounted that her parents were arguing when her father got a gun, approached her mother for what seemed to be a hug, and then shot her in the chest.
In the wake of Laura's death, Keith Robert Else was taken into custody and charged with criminal homicide and recklessly endangering another person. He was incarcerated in the Carbon County Correctional Facility. In a subsequent court appearance, he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. The court learned of the abusive and controlling nature of their relationship. In March 2022, a judge sentenced Keith Else to serve 18 to 40 years in a state correctional institution for the murder of his wife, a sentence that acknowledged the profound loss suffered by Laura's children and her parents, who were left to care for their grandchildren.
