Politics & Government

Alleged Killer of Alburtis Women Says Bloody Sneakers Not His

Brandin Lee Kasick, formerly of Orefield and Breinigsville, makes an appearance at a pretrial hearing in Lehigh County Court.

Brandin Lee Kasick, the former carpet cleaner accused of killing a mother and daughter in Alburtis last year had a pretrial day in Lehigh County Court on  Tuesday.

Kasick, a former resident of Orefield and Breinigsville, and charged with the homicides of Althea Walbert, 82, and her 59-year-old daughter, Jeannette.

Police say Kasick, 27, fled to Florida, but before he did he left a bag of his clothing and possessions with his former girlfriend and mother of his children, Chantiel Schanerberger. She later passed the bag containing bloody sneakers along to police.

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Police say the blood belonged to Jeannette Walbert, according to a story in the Morning Call.

The story goes on to say that in court on Tuesday, Kasick spoke on his own behalf to try to distance himself from the shoes, even hinting that they did not belong to him.

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Kasick also said that Schanerberger did not have his permission to give the bag to police, the story said. 

Lehigh County Chief Deputy District Attorney Christie Bonesch told Kasick he couldn't have it "both ways," it said, reporting that Bonesch said Kasick admitted ownership of the sneakers when he said Schanerberger didn't have his permission to give them to police.

The Walberts, both lifelong residents of Alburtis, Althea Walbert was reportedly a bit eccentric and often kept thousands of dollars in cash in her purse.

Her ultimate encounter with Kasick was not the first time she had been robbed, police report.

The Walberts had been killed by "sharp force trauma to the neck" sometime on March 8, 9 or 10. They were found around 9 a.m. on March 11, 2011.

Exact details will be revealed at trial, Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin has said. For now, a trial date has been set for March 2013.

Martin also has said he will seek the death penalty for Kasick.


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