Frank Osellanie: Convicted Child Murderer and Suspected Serial Killer
Background
Frank Osellanie was a Scranton, Pennsylvania, businessman and automobile mechanic whose name became associated with several of the region’s most disturbing unsolved cases. Although he was convicted of only one murder, investigators considered him a possible or chief suspect in the disappearances of two females and the unsolved killing of another young woman. Because the additional cases were never proven in court, Osellanie is more accurately described as a suspected serial killer rather than a legally confirmed serial murderer.
Osellanie operated an automobile repair garage in Scranton. The location of his business became significant because it was near areas connected to some of the missing girls and women later linked to him. Authorities examined similarities among the cases, including the ages of some of the victims, their proximity to Osellanie’s garage and the use of fire to conceal evidence in two of the known murders. Despite the suspicions surrounding him, Osellanie denied responsibility for the unresolved cases.
The Murder of Renee Waddle
Osellanie’s only confirmed murder victim was nine-year-old Renee Waddle. On May 14, 1989, Renee was abducted, sexually assaulted, tortured and killed. Her partially clothed and burned body was discovered along a wooded private road in Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The condition of her remains showed that an attempt had been made to destroy evidence and conceal the nature of the crime.
The investigation led authorities to Osellanie, who was arrested and prosecuted in Lackawanna County. Evidence presented at trial established that Renee had been kidnapped and subjected to prolonged violence before her death. The brutality of the crime and the photographs of her charred remains became major issues during Osellanie’s later appeal, but the appellate court upheld the handling of the case.
Osellanie was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. He received a life sentence for second-degree murder, followed by consecutive prison terms of twenty to forty years for kidnapping and rape. Several of the remaining convictions merged with the murder conviction for sentencing purposes.
The Unsolved Murder of Laureen Finn
Nineteen-year-old Laureen Finn was killed in Scranton in December 1987. She was last known to have been at O’Toole’s Tavern before her body was found burning near Monroe Street in the vicinity of the University of Scranton. Her verified date of death was December 11, 1987.
Investigators believed Laureen may have been beaten and sexually assaulted before an accelerant was poured over her body and set on fire. The burning of her remains bore a disturbing resemblance to the later disposal of Renee Waddle’s body. Osellanie was identified publicly as a chief suspect or person of interest in Laureen’s murder, but the available evidence was never sufficient to charge him.
The suspected connection rested partly on the similar effort to destroy evidence through fire, the location of the crime and Osellanie’s presence in the Scranton area. However, no court ever determined that he killed Laureen, and her murder remains officially unresolved.
The Disappearance of Michelle “Jolene” Lakey
Michelle “Jolene” Lakey was eleven years old when she disappeared in Scranton on August 26, 1986. She had been visiting her ill mother at Mercy Hospital and was walking home with a friend. Jolene separated from the other child shortly before reaching her residence and was never seen by her family again.
Witnesses reported seeing a girl resembling Jolene entering or being placed into a light-yellow automobile about a block from her home. Osellanie operated a garage near the route she followed that day. He reportedly acknowledged knowing Jolene and said that she sometimes visited his business and that he had previously given her rides. These circumstances caused investigators to regard him as a possible primary suspect.
Jolene’s body has never been recovered, and no verified date of death has been established. Osellanie was never charged in connection with her disappearance. Her family continued searching for answers for decades, hoping that additional witnesses or undiscovered evidence might finally explain what happened to her.
The Disappearance of Joanne Williams
Joanne Williams, a twenty-two-year-old Scranton woman, disappeared on December 7, 1978. She left her home on East Gibson Street in her red 1977 Datsun 200 SX, which had distinctive white racing stripes, and drove to an exercise class at a dance school on Route 6 in Chinchilla. She left the school at approximately 10:00 p.m. but never returned home.
Joanne’s vehicle was later located in West Scranton near Lafayette Street and North Everett Avenue. Her belongings, including her purse and paycheck, were reportedly still inside. The presence of those possessions suggested that she had not voluntarily abandoned her life. No confirmed trace of her was found after the night of her disappearance.
Osellanie’s automobile garage was located near Joanne’s residence, and investigators later considered him a possible suspect. He denied knowing her and denied involvement in her disappearance. Joanne was legally declared dead in 1991, but her remains have never been found and her actual date and cause of death remain unknown.
Known and Suspected Victims
- Renee Waddle: Nine years old. Abducted, sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered on May 14, 1989. Her burned body was found along a wooded private road in Roaring Brook Township, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Osellanie was convicted of her murder.
- Laureen Finn: Nineteen years old. Died on December 11, 1987, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her burning body was found near Monroe Street in the University of Scranton area. Osellanie was considered a suspect but was never charged.
- Michelle “Jolene” Lakey: Eleven years old. Last seen on August 26, 1986, while walking home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Her body has never been recovered, and no verified date of death exists. Osellanie was considered a possible principal suspect but was never charged.
- Joanne Williams: Twenty-two years old. Last seen on December 7, 1978, after leaving a dance school in Chinchilla, Pennsylvania. Her abandoned vehicle was later found in West Scranton. She was declared legally dead in 1991, although her actual date of death remains unknown. Osellanie was investigated as a possible suspect but was never charged.
Conviction and Imprisonment
Osellanie’s prosecution for Renee Waddle’s murder brought renewed attention to the earlier Scranton cases. During jury selection, prospective jurors who had heard accusations connecting him to other crimes were questioned, and some were removed from consideration. His defense challenged aspects of the trial, including the use of photographs showing Renee’s burned body and the publicity surrounding the case.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court rejected Osellanie’s arguments and allowed his convictions and sentences to stand. He remained imprisoned for the rest of his life. His punishment included life imprisonment for murder and additional consecutive sentences for the kidnapping and rape of Renee Waddle.
Unanswered Questions
The suspected connections among the four cases have never been conclusively established. Renee Waddle was the only victim whose death was legally attributed to Osellanie. The murder of Laureen Finn and the disappearances of Jolene Lakey and Joanne Williams remained unresolved because investigators lacked enough admissible evidence to prosecute him.
Osellanie died in a Pennsylvania state prison in 2020 at approximately seventy-four years old. His death ended any possibility of a confession or criminal trial involving the unresolved cases. It also left the families of Laureen, Jolene and Joanne without definitive answers about whether the man convicted of Renee’s murder was responsible for the suffering they endured.
Frank Osellanie’s confirmed crimes demonstrated that he was capable of abducting, sexually assaulting and killing a child before attempting to destroy evidence with fire. Those facts made investigators’ suspicions in the other Scranton cases especially troubling. Nevertheless, the distinction between proven and suspected crimes remains essential: he was a convicted murderer in Renee Waddle’s case, while his involvement in the other three cases was never established beyond suspicion.
