Forty years later, Apollo remembers officer shot in ‘kill for thrill’ spree
Leonard C. Miller was the final victim
William Kerr knelt at the side of Apollo Police Officer Leonard C. Miller as he lay dying on Route 66 in a pool of blood, his empty revolver in his hand.
It was Jan. 3, 1980. Officer Miller had just been shot by Michael Travaglia and John Lesko.
The two had murdered three people in the previous seven days.
Officer Miller became their final victim in what the media called the “kill for thrill” spree, one of the most notorious crimes in Pennsylvania history.
“They shot me twice,” Officer Miller radioed to fellow officers that morning from the side of the road in Oklahoma Borough.
Mr. Kerr, then the 28year-old mayor of Apollo, heard the call at home and responded to the scene just across the Apollo Bridge. He knelt beside Officer Miller as he lay facedown next to his patrol car. The officer had emptied his pistol in firing at his attackers, but his wounds were fatal. He died that morning, his third day on the job as a full-timer. He was 21.
Forty years later, his memory lives on.
The bridge is named for him; there’s a memorial for him in town; a scholarship bearing his name helps Apollo-Ridge High School seniors who plan criminal justice careers.
For four decades since 1980, friends of Officer Miller, led by Mr. Kerr and retired Apollo Police Chief James Clawson, also have held a memorial service in five-year increments as a tribute to a young man cut down before he had a chance to live.
This time it will be Sunday at Apollo First Lutheran Church.
“Every five years we do this,” said Mr. Kerr, now 68. “We feel that we need to keep his legacy alive. It brings the community together.”
Officer Miller, who had always wanted to be a police officer, had been a parttimer in Apollo and other communities for several years and had just become a full-timer on Jan. 1. He was remembered as selfless, good-natured, devoted to his duties.
The memorial service honors only Officer Miller, Mr. Kerr said, “but we are always mindful of the other victims.”
They are Peter Levato, 49, a night watchman from Pittsburgh; Marlene Sue Newcomer, 26, a single mother from Fayette County; and William C. Nicholls, 31, a church organist from Mt. Lebanon.
The killers had no reason to murder any of them.
The pair tortured Mr. Levato and shot him, killed Ms. Newcomer after she gave them a ride back to Pittsburgh, and drowned Mr. Nicholls in a lake.
Then, driving Mr. Nicholls’ car, they sped past Officer Miller to lure him into a chase so they could kill him.
Both were sentenced to death.
Travaglia died on death row at age 59 in 2017. Lesko remains on death row.
The memorial service for Officer Miller, held in conjunction with Apollo New Life Baptist Church, is open to the public. Mr. Kerr said as many as 200 people are expected.
A restored high school picture of Officer Miller will be unveiled. The picture had hung for years at the former Leonard C. Miller Home of Adelphoi Village, which is now the borough building.
Among the participants at the service will be cadets from the Lenape Technical School Law Enforcement Information Technology Program, who will serve as ushers, and the Armstrong County American Legion Honor Guard, which will present the colors. Katie Charlton, the district attorney in Armstrong County, will make remarks and Mr. Clawson, who was Officer Miller’s best friend, will present his badge, No. 78, to borough officials for display at the municipal office.
Mr. Kerr said the fiveyear service is celebrated “not because Leonard Miller died, but because he lived.” That was what the Rev. Frederick Zikeli said at Officer Miller’s funeral in 1980.
The young officer, who had a special connection to at-risk youth, “loved his community and loved life,” Mr. Kerr wrote in an opinion piece earlier this month in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We won’t forget Miller and his duty, honor and courage.”
The theme for the service is from St. John’s Gospel: “There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
The service starts at 2 p.m.