Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Following the waiver of their preliminary hearings on Tuesday, the cases of three people charged with the April murder of 25-year-old Matthew Scott Whisman will now proceed to the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas.
The defendants, Jeremy Absher, 25, Steven Gaddis, 27, and Alexander Whisman, 17, are each facing 11 charges, which include murder, drug distribution that results in death, abduction to accomplish a felony, witness intimidation, and corpse abuse. In front of District Judge William Mankin, the waivers were signed.
After discovering that Matthew Whisman planned to assist law enforcement with a January shooting incident in Maryland, authorities claim the three attacked, abducted, and murdered him. According to the prosecution, the victim was attacked on April 3 at a home in East Drumore Township by Gaddis, Absher, and his cousin Alexander Whisman, who gave him a lethal dose of fentanyl and then threw his body down a bridge.
The remains of Matthew Whisman were found in August in Cecil County, Maryland, next to a hiking route. After months of not hearing from him, the victim’s mother filed a missing person’s report in July. A witness subsequently admitted to detectives that the three defendants were to blame for his disappearance.
While Alexander Whisman is being kept at the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center, Gaddis and Absher are still being held on unrelated offenses in separate Pennsylvania prisons. Earlier this year, Absher was extradited from South Carolina, where he had moved following the victim’s abduction.
According to court documents, the defendants are awaiting trial in Lancaster County, where the prosecution will proceed.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!
