Abt Family Murders: Reporter Returns To The Crime Scene Decades Later

In March 1976, Kathryn Canavan was a 25-year-old reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times living in a small cabin along the Neshaminy Creek.

The young reporter was on the scene just 90 minutes after a gunman finished a killing spree that claimed six lives inside a suburban home on Fleetwood Avenue in Bensalem Township, which was less than two miles from her cabin.

Decades later, Canavan has returned to the story that made a mark on her early career. Her new book, “Killer in the House: 10 Days of Terror in a Pennsylvania Suburb,” offers a reconstruction of the murders of the Abt family — a crime that remains one of the most shocking in the Philadelphia region’s history.

“I had always wondered what happened to all the people who were involved in that,” said Canavan, who has gone on to work at newspapers along the East Coast.

The book details how 18-year-old George Geschwendt broke into the home of Jack and Peggy Abt on a Friday morning after the last family member had left for the day.

According to Canavan’s research, Geschwendt sat by an upright piano in the living room and waited for 11 hours. He did not eat, sleep, or watch television.

As family members and friends returned home expecting a Friday night fish fry, Geschwendt ambushed them one by one. He fired at his victims from a distance of less than 18 inches. After each shooting, he dragged the bodies to the basement and cleaned the area to maintain the element of surprise for the next person to walk through the door.

The victims included Jack and Peggy Abt, their children Margie, Kathy, and Johnny, and one family friend.

The sole survivor, 21-year-old Michael Abt, discovered the scene after returning from a neighbor’s house, causing the killer to flee.

Canavan, now in her 70s and living in Delaware, began a research process for the book that she described as “riding in a time machine.”

The author used a vast number of records to piece together the narrative, including autopsy reports and prison records, trial transcripts and IQ tests, the killer’s own confession, and new interviews with surviving police officers and attorneys.

She located Dave Clee, the patrolman who first found the bodies, and reconnected with Michael Abt.

Canavan also highlighted the work of Detective Ted Zajac and defense attorney Richard Fink.

While Fink argued that Geschwendt was mentally ill, a jury ultimately disagreed.

“Everything in George’s life went wrong,” Canavan said, recalling her interview with Fink. “And who do you blame when things go wrong? Well, nobody blames themselves.”

Beyond the violence, the book explores the Abts’ role in the community. Jack Abt was a scout leader, and Peggy Abt coached the Trevose Twirlers baton group. The couple was known for taking in young people and helping them.

“They were really all part of the community, which not too many people are now,” Canavan said.

The terror of the 10-day investigation gripped the suburbs.

Canavan noted that the fear was so widespread that local detectives, like Bob Eckert, sometimes had to slide their badges under doors just to get residents to speak with them.

The case was solved in just over a week despite a total lack of forensic evidence.

The break came after Geschwendt failed to throw his weapon deep enough into the Neshaminy Creek, and it was recovered

Canavan’s book also notes that the same day the Abt family was killed, another murder occurred nearby.

Ed and Marguerite Vogenberger, both 77, were tortured and shot to death at their Langhorne Borough farm, which was just miles from the Abt residence.

Unlike the Abt case, which ended with six death penalties and cheers in the courtroom, the Vogenberger murders remain unsolved to this day and there is no known connection to the Abt case.

The journalist’s book project began after Canavan spoke with former Bucks County Courier Times colleagues who suggested she tackle the Abt murders.

Initially resistant, she changed her mind after revisiting the crime scene.

“I told them, ‘no, I do history.’ And they said, ‘hey, it is history,’” she said.

Canavan, who previously authored a book on the Lincoln assassination and shocking crime in Philadelphia, said the ongoing interest in the Abt case proves the story still resonates.

“People were scared to death,” she said. “And they still want to know about the Abts.”