William C. Nichols, a 32-year-old male from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, tragically died on January 2, 1980, in Indiana, PA. Nichols was a victim of a brutal murder carried out by Michael Travaglia and John Lesko, who were involved in a killing spree known as the "Kill for Thrill" murders. The two men, aged 21 at the time, lured Nichols outside the Edison Hotel in Pittsburgh, where they took his car and subsequently beat and tortured him.
Nichols was then bound, gagged, and tied to a large stone before being dropped into Blue Spruce Lake in Indiana County.
The investigation into Nichols' death was part of a larger inquiry into a series of murders committed by Travaglia and Lesko over an eight-day period. The spree began on December 27, 1979, with the murder of Peter Levato, and continued with the killing of Marlene Sue Newcomer on January 1, 1980. The investigation led to the arrest of Travaglia and Lesko on January 3, 1980, after they were involved in a high-speed chase with police officer Leonard C. Miller, who was fatally shot during the pursuit.
Travaglia and Lesko were charged with multiple counts of homicide and criminal conspiracy. They were sentenced to death by a Westmoreland County jury in February 1981. However, their executions have been repeatedly stayed, and Travaglia remains on death row while Lesko's death sentence was vacated by an appeals court in 1991, only to be resentenced to death in 1995.
The "Kill for Thrill" case remains one of the most significant criminal episodes in Western Pennsylvania's history, highlighting the tragic loss of life and the extensive legal battles that followed.
