On a tragic day in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 29-year-old Dorothy Lyons became one of the victims in a devastating mass shooting that unfolded on September 25, 1982. Her life was cut short by George Emil Banks, a former prison guard with whom she was in a relationship. The violence of that day also claimed the life of Dorothy's 11-year-old daughter, Nancy Lyons. The horrific events began in the early morning hours at Banks's home on Schoolhouse Lane.
The perpetrator, George Emil Banks, who was 40 years old at the time, had spent the previous night drinking and taking prescription medication. In a premeditated act, he used a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to shoot and kill eight people in his house. Among the victims in the home were three of his girlfriends, including Dorothy Lyons, and five children. After the initial attack, Banks, dressed in military fatigues, continued his rampage, shooting a bystander outside his home before proceeding to a mobile home park in Jenkins Township. There, he murdered another former girlfriend and three of her family members. In total, Banks killed 13 people that day, including seven children, five of whom were his own.
Following the shootings, Banks fled the scene and was later found barricaded in a friend's house. After a four-hour standoff with police, he surrendered. During his trial in June 1983, his defense attorneys argued that he was insane. However, Banks insisted on testifying, claiming he had only wounded some of the victims and that the police were responsible for their deaths. The jury did not accept his claims and found him guilty of 12 counts of first-degree murder, one count of third-degree murder, attempted murder, and other charges.
On June 22, 1983, the jury recommended the death penalty for George Banks. He spent decades on death row, during which his legal team filed numerous appeals. These appeals centered on his mental state, with his attorneys arguing that he was incompetent for execution. Over the years, courts held several hearings to assess his mental competency. In 2010, a judge ultimately ruled that Banks was mentally incompetent to be executed, citing his delusional behavior. This ruling effectively commuted his sentence to life in prison. George Banks died of natural causes in prison on November 2, 2025, at the age of 83. His shooting spree remains the deadliest in Pennsylvania's history.
