In the winter of 2016, a shadow fell over Montoursville, Pennsylvania, with the disappearance of 31-year-old Michelle Lynn Inch. The unsettling events began to unfold on January 26th, the last day Michelle was seen alive. She was in the company of her boyfriend, Michael Houseweart, leaving his residence in Canton with the stated intention of going target shooting. This outing, however, was a prelude to a series of crimes that would end in tragedy.
The following day, Houseweart, along with another man, Brian Vroman, forced their way into the home of Michelle's parents, Gary and Linda Inch. The two men, wearing masks and armed with a rifle, bound the couple with duct tape before setting their house on fire. Linda Inch managed to escape and alert neighbors, while firefighters had to rescue her husband from the burning home.
In the immediate aftermath of the home invasion and arson, Michelle Inch was nowhere to be found, sparking a frantic search by her friends, family, and law enforcement. For nearly two months, the community held onto hope, organizing search parties and pleading for information. The investigation into the fire and robbery quickly led police to Michael Houseweart and Brian Vroman. Houseweart, already a person of interest in Michelle's disappearance, offered inconsistent stories to the police about her whereabouts. He initially claimed he had dropped her off on a rural road and had not seen her since.
The grim discovery of Michelle Inch's body along a creek in Overton Township, Bradford County, in March brought the search to a heartbreaking conclusion. An autopsy revealed the violent nature of her death; she had been shot, stabbed multiple times, and suffered blunt force trauma. Investigators found a piece of Houseweart's shotgun near her body, and DNA evidence further linked him to the murder. Blood belonging to both Michelle and Houseweart was found on the shotgun, and her blood was also discovered in her car and on his shoe. The motive for the murder appeared to be jealousy, as Houseweart had recently discovered messages between Michelle and an ex-boyfriend.
With mounting evidence against him, Michael Houseweart was charged with criminal homicide. He eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. In addition to the life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, Houseweart received a consecutive sentence of 61.5 to 153 years for the attempted homicide, arson, and robbery of her parents. During his court appearances, he admitted that the robbery was driven by a need for money to fuel a drug binge and that the arson was an impulsive act. Brian Vroman also faced charges related to the home invasion and arson. While he was not charged in Michelle's death, his involvement in the preceding events was a critical part of the case.
