Joseph Sommer Jr., a 48-year-old man from Northampton, PA, tragically died on May 25, 2016. He was involved in a murder-suicide incident in Washington Township, Lehigh County. Sommer was shot and killed by Harry R. Bortz Jr., 34, who then turned the gun on himself. The incident occurred at a home near Slatington, and both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy confirmed that Sommer's death was a homicide, while Bortz died by suicide.
The shooting was reported just before 11 p.m. on May 24, 2016, in the 6700 block of Route 873, just north of Oak Drive. Authorities described the incident as the result of a love triangle, and no other individuals were implicated in the shooting. Sommer lived at 642 E. 10th St. in Northampton, and Bortz lived at 17 W. 10th St. in Northampton.
Sommer was well-known in the Northampton wrestling community as the head coach of the youth wrestling program and vice president of the wrestling booster club. His death deeply affected the community, and many remembered him as an outstanding man who went above and beyond to help others. The wrestling community struggled to move forward without him, and his family had already endured the loss of his 17-year-old son four years earlier.
In summary, Joseph Sommer Jr.'s death was a tragic result of a murder-suicide involving a love triangle, and it left a significant impact on his family and the wrestling community in Northampton.
