In the early morning hours of July 13, 2015, the quiet of a Granville Township, Pennsylvania neighborhood was shattered by a tragic event. At a home on Fairway Place, 44-year-old Carol D. White and her 81-year-old mother, Floris C. Lewis, were found dead in what was quickly determined to be a double homicide. Police discovered Carol's body outside the residence, while her mother was found in her bed. Both women had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Carol was a graduate of Lewistown High School and worked as a jewelry department manager at Wal-Mart.
The investigation swiftly focused on two individuals. Travis A. White, Carol's 35-year-old estranged husband with whom she was finalizing a divorce, and his associate, 39-year-old Henry A. 'Jason' Kuhns. Both men were taken into custody the same day. The events leading to their arrest began when a neighbor reported seeing a person with a gun and then heard three 'pops'. This neighbor identified the armed individual as likely being Travis White.
In the months that followed, the case against the two men solidified. In November 2015, Pennsylvania State Police charged Travis White with two counts of homicide. Jason Kuhns faced a litany of charges including two counts of Criminal Conspiracy to Commit Homicide, Burglary, and Theft by Unlawful Taking. Both men, who had been incarcerated since the day of the murders, continued to be held without bail.
The legal process culminated in October 2017, when Travis A. White, then 37, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to two counts of second-degree murder for the killings of his estranged wife and her mother. In a move that surprised some, his plea came just before his trial was set to begin. As a result of his plea, the prosecution withdrew its notice to seek the death penalty. Travis White was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
