Anthony Joyner

Serial Killer

Anthony Joyner: The Murders at Kearsley Home

Background and Employment

Anthony Joyner was born on May 26, 1962, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Little reliable information has been published about his childhood or family life. As a young adult, he worked a series of low-skilled jobs before obtaining a position at the Kearsley Home, part of Christ Church Hospital in Philadelphia. He began working in the nursing home's kitchen in October 1981, serving as an assistant nutrition worker and performing duties that brought him into regular contact with elderly residents. Joyner developed a reputation among employees and residents as friendly, energetic, and unusually attentive to the women living at the facility. That outwardly helpful image allowed him to move through the building without immediately attracting suspicion. Behind it, however, he was studying the home's routines, its poorly monitored areas, and the physical vulnerabilities of its residents.

The Kearsley Home

Kearsley Home was a long-established Philadelphia institution that cared for elderly people, many of whom were frail or suffering from serious medical conditions. Because deaths among the residents were not uncommon, the facility depended heavily on physicians and staff members to recognize when a death was inconsistent with a patient's health history. Joyner exploited that environment. His victims were elderly women between the ages of 83 and 92. Their age and medical problems made it easier for suspicious deaths to be mistaken for natural ones. Several women were found with blood or injuries that should have raised alarms, yet their deaths were initially attributed to heart disease, age, or other medical causes. Autopsies were not immediately performed in a number of the cases. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Margaret Eckard Age: (92), Date of Death: 1983-01-12

Anthony Joyner - Wikipedia