In the quiet community of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, the life of 58-year-old Stephen J. Kriebel, a husband and father, was brought to a violent and tragic end on the morning of December 28, 2017. The perpetrator was identified as Matthew Boyer, the 32-year-old boyfriend of Kriebel's daughter.
On that Thursday morning, Boyer armed himself with a baseball bat and a gun and drove to the Kriebel family home in Colebrookdale Township.
Using a key he had obtained from his girlfriend, Boyer let himself into the house and went upstairs to confront Stephen Kriebel. A violent struggle ensued between the two men. Kriebel's wife was present in the home and witnessed the beginning of the altercation but did not see the fatal shots being fired. The fight concluded with Boyer shooting Kriebel multiple times.
Following the incident, Boyer was taken into custody and faced murder charges. Authorities did not publicly disclose a specific motive for the deadly confrontation. In the subsequent legal proceedings, Boyer was denied bail. In March 2021, Matthew Boyer pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, burglary, and carrying a firearm without a license. He received a sentence of 30 to 60 years in state prison for his crimes. His time in prison was cut short, however, when he was found unresponsive in his cell at SCI Dallas on January 13, 2023, and was pronounced deceased.
