In the summer of 1992, a shadow fell over Allentown, Pennsylvania, beginning with the tragic death of Joan Burghardt, a 29-year-old woman known for her caring nature. A nurse's aide, Joan lived by herself in a first-floor apartment at 1430 East Gordon Street on the city's east side. Her life was one of quiet dedication to helping others, a life that was horrifically cut short, marking the beginning of a period of fear for the community.
She was a white female, and her murder would be the first in a series of violent attacks that terrorized the city.
On Sunday, August 9, 1992, police were called to Joan’s residence after a neighbor grew concerned. The neighbor reported that Joan's stereo had been playing for three days and nights, no one was answering the door, and a window screen was out of place. The neighbor also recalled hearing sounds of a struggle one of those nights, like someone being beaten against the walls. Upon entering the apartment, officers discovered a brutal scene. Joan was found deceased on her living room floor. An autopsy would later reveal she had been sexually assaulted and bludgeoned to death, suffering dozens of blunt force injuries to her head. Just days earlier, on August 5, police had been dispatched to her apartment for a burglary where she reported that $40 to $50 had been stolen.
The investigation into Joan's homicide launched a period of dread in Allentown as the attacker remained at large. For months, there were no arrests, and the case grew cold. The community was unaware that the perpetrator was a teenager who lived among them. The break in the case would not come until the following year, after a string of similarly savage crimes created a clear and terrifying pattern. The city was dealing with its first serial killer.
The man responsible was Harvey Miguel Robinson, who was only 17 years old when he murdered Joan Burghardt. His violent spree continued in 1993, when he raped and murdered 15-year-old newspaper carrier Charlotte Schmoyer and 47-year-old grandmother Jessica Jean Fortney. Robinson also attacked and raped two other victims who survived, one of whom was a five-year-old girl. It was his repeated return to the home of one of the survivors, Denise Sam-Cali, that led to his capture. Police had set up a watch at her home, and when Robinson returned on July 31, 1993, he was shot and wounded in an exchange of gunfire with an officer before being apprehended at a local hospital where he sought treatment.
DNA evidence collected from the crime scenes, including Joan's apartment, definitively linked Robinson to the three murders and the other attacks. In November 1994, at the age of 19, he was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder, rape, burglary, and other charges. The jury returned three separate death sentences for the murders of Joan, Charlotte, and Jessica. Robinson became known as "The Monster of Allentown."
Over the years, the legal battles continued. Due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding juvenile offenders, Robinson's death sentence for the murder of Joan Burghardt was eventually changed to a life sentence, as he was 17 at the time of her killing. He also received a life sentence for the murder of Charlotte Schmoyer after waiving his appeal rights. His death sentence for the murder of Jessica Jean Fortney was upheld. Joan's mother, Gladys Burghardt, years later expressed the toll the endless legal process had taken, stating, "I'm 83 now and it's not beneficial to my health, or my husband's health, to dwell on it. We only have a short time left, and we need to make the most of it."
Harvey Miguel Robinson remains incarcerated, serving two life sentences and a death sentence, plus additional time for his other crimes. The series of brutal attacks he committed left an indelible scar on the community of Allentown. The memory of Joan Burghardt, a compassionate caregiver whose life was stolen in a senseless act of violence, endures as the first victim in a dark chapter of the city's history.
