On January 3, 1980, Leonard Clifford Miller, a 21-year-old Black male, was tragically killed in the line of duty just three days after achieving his lifelong dream of becoming a full-time police officer with the Apollo Borough Police Department. His death was the final act in a violent crime spree that terrorized Western Pennsylvania.
In the early morning hours, Patrolman Miller, working the midnight to 8 a.m.
shift alone, initiated a traffic stop of a silver sports car that had sped past him. The stop occurred on a semi-secluded stretch of Route 66 in Oklahoma Borough, just across the river from Apollo. As he approached the vehicle, he was shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the stomach. Despite his grave injuries, Miller was able to radio for help, telling dispatchers he had been shot and needed an ambulance. Responding officers found him lying face down beside his patrol car. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation swiftly led to the apprehension of two suspects, John Lesko and Michael Travaglia, both 21 years old at the time. Their capture unveiled a horrifying series of crimes that the media would dub the 'Kill for Thrill' spree. Over an eight-day period, Lesko and Travaglia had randomly targeted and murdered three other individuals before their fateful encounter with Patrolman Miller. Their victims included a 26-year-old single mother and two other men, aged 32 and 49, whose bodies were discovered in various locations in and around Apollo.
Both Lesko and Travaglia were charged with four counts of murder. They were subsequently tried and convicted, with both receiving the death penalty. Over the years, their cases went through numerous appeals, and their convictions were overturned at different points in the 1990s. However, they were both retried, and the death sentences were reinstated. Michael Travaglia died in prison of natural causes on September 3, 2017. John Lesko remains on death row, and is noted as one of Pennsylvania's longest-serving inmates on death row. The community of Apollo has continued to honor the memory of Patrolman Leonard Clifford Miller, a dedicated young officer whose service was cut short in a senseless act of violence.
