Michael was ambushed April 30, 1986 in front of his two young daughters.
UNSOLVED EXETER TWP. MURDER
Michael P. Auchenbach 32 years old May 1, 1986
Michael Auchenbach
'Mike Auchenbach One Beautiful Human Being'
Michael was shot and killed 25 years ago, when he was ambushed on Elm Street in St. Lawrence, Exeter Twp. as he prepared to take his two daughters to school.
Reading Times, May 1, 1986
Police remove items from Michael P. Auchenbach's pickup truck after the contractor was shot Wednesday moring during an ambush in St. Lawrence.
"The gunman gripped the weapon with both hands in a professional shooting stance." Police believe the weapon was a small caliber possibly a .32 revolver."
Many memorials were placed .....
In Loving Memory Of Michael P. Auchenbach "One Beautiful Human Being" To one we will never forget His absence to us is a sorrow His loss we will always regret We love you Mike. Your 2,100 friends from the funeral
In every lifetime there is a moment somewhere in the course from birth to death in which we all experience a crystal insight into our own soul. At the time we understand what is of basic importance to us. I have reached my moment of this profound event. There is a man whose death has touched so many lives. Family, friends, businessmen, acquaintances and enemies. Each of these individuals has lost something precious in this man's death. The family close and distant relatives, friends, good acquaintances, their feelings can be expressed simply in the few words on a wooden and brass plaque which adorned his casket. It reads "To one beautiful human being." This profound message was a gift given a few years ago by a close friend and business associate. The hundreds of mourners who visited his coffin could not go unaffected by the great love and strength felt in that room for him. Can we as human beings live our lives and truly ever be joyous again through these acts? Are our hearts and minds becoming ever so slowly unable to love at all? May 1st 1986, we all, loved ones and ememies alike, have indeed lost something precious! Lord, please forgive us equally. Written with great-love for Stephanie and Tricia in honor of their father.
Various news articles...
Police following leads in ambush slaying Authorities continued Thursday to compile lists of individuals who may have had a grudge against Michael P. Auchenbach, the plumbing and fencing contractor who was mortally wounded when he was gunned down on a St. Lawrence street. The gunman - described as a black man about 5 feet 9 inches tall with a very thin build - fled on foot, police said.
Reading Eagle 5/12/1986 Exeter police seeking vehicle in murder case Exeter township police are seeking information on a vehicle they believe may be linked to the murder of Michael P. Auchenbach, who was gunned down on Elm Street in St. Lawrence on April 30. Sgt. Clarence I. Swoyer Jr. said a car was spotted on Brown Street, one block west of where Auchenbach was shot between 7:15 and 7:30 that morning. The car was described as a 1970 -to-1976 Ford or Chrysler midsize. It was light green four - door with a dark green top, and it had many bumper stickers on the rear bumper. " We feel there is involvement here somehow, " the sergeant said.
Reading Times July 29, 1986 2nd suspect tied to killing being sought A second suspect whom sources say was the triggerman in the April 30 ambush slaying of Michael P. Auchenbach in St. Lawrence is being sought by police following the announcement Monday that a Reading man has been arrested on murder and conspiracy charges.
Slaying victim's widow accused of perjury Reading Eagle December 23,1986 By Grant Mahon and Dave Mowery
Kathy Auchenbach, 34 widow of Reading contractor Michael P. Auchenbach, was arrested Monday by state police on a charge that she perjured herself in testimony before the Berks County grand jury investigating the ambush slaying of her husband. District Attorney George C. Yatron said the perjury charge filed as a presentment against Auchenbach came about because she "intentionally misled (the grand jury) ... on a relevant and material element of the investigation." According to documents accompanying an arrest warrant, Mrs. Auchenbach denied in her testimony to the grand jury that she had any contact since 1984 with Samuel "Junior" Hickson, 32 who has been charged in the slaying. She appeared twice before the panel. Two other witnesses contradicted her testimony and stated that she met with Hickson on April 30, the day of the slaying, according to the documents. Yatron refused to confirm or deny whether Mrs. Auchenbach is considered a conspirator in the slaying.
Auchenbach, 32, of 3000 block of St. Lawrence Ave., St. Lawrence, was gunned down on the morning of April 30 on Elm Street, around the corner from the dwelling, as he was preparing to drive his two young daughters to school. He died about 17 hours later in St. Joseph Hospital. Yatron also disclosed for the first time that authorities and the grand jury have established sufficient evidence to prosecute another suspect in the slaying, the gunman, but have been unable to locate him. Hickson, whose last known address was in the 200 block of South Fifth Street, has been described by sources as the person who plotted and arranged the slaying. He was apprehended July 24 by an FBI stakeout team as his apartment in The Bronx, N.Y. The Berks grand jury, in a sealed presentment, had recommended that he be charged with murder and conspiracy. Hickson has been confined to the Berks County Prison without bail since his return to Berks on Dec. 3. Following her arrest, Mrs. Auchenbach was arraigned before District Justice Wally Scott and committed to the prison in lieu of $100,000. bail. The circumstances of her arrest were not disclosed. In her grand jury testimony July 1, Mrs. Auchenbach stated that she had not seen Hickson since September or October 1984, according to documents. On July 8. Jacqueline Sloan testified that Mrs. Auchenbach and Hickson met April 30 in Sloan's residence at 529 Robeson St. She also testified that a man identified as Timothy Raeford had accompanied Hickson to her apartment. Raeford, 448 Schuylkill Ave., corroborated Sloan's statements in his own testimony before the grand jury later that day, according to the documents. Sloan and Raeford were not identified further in the documents. "For there to be a recommendation for a charge of perjury, there must be two elements," said Yatron, explaining the justification for the arrest. "One is that they (the members of the grand jury) must believe she intentionally misled them. Then secondly, they must believe that she misled them in regard to a relevant and material element of the investigation." Auchenbach had operated a fencing and plumbing contracting business at 229 S. Nint St. He and his wife were involved in a bitter child custody fight at the time of his slaying, according to investigators. A hearing on the perjury charge was scheduled at 4:30 p.m. next Tuesday before Scott.
Kathy Auchenbach, 34 the widow of murdered Reading contractor Michael P. Auchenbach, prepares to enter District Justice Felix V. Stacherski's office, where she was scheduled to have a hearing on perjury charges Wednesday night. The man with her is unidentified. The hearing was continued.
Perjury hearing is continued for the widow of Auchenbach A perjury hearing for the widow of murdered Reading contractor Michael P. Auchenbach was continued Wednesday night after her attorney objected to the way the prosecution was presenting its case.
The Reading Eagle article is listed below.
October 13, 1987
Perjury trial delayed
The perjury trial ofKathy Auchenbach scheduled to begin today in Berks County Court, has been postponed.
Assistant District Attorney Allan L. Sodomsky said Auchenbach's attorney, Timothy Savage requested the delay until Monday, November 16, because of publicity created during the past several weeks by the murder trial of Samuel "Junior" Hickson.
Hickson, 33 was convicted Thursday of three counts of conspiracy, including conspiracy to commit murder, stemming from the slaying of Auchenbach's husband, Michael P. Auchenbach.
Auchenbach was gunned down April 30, 1986 on Elm Street in St. Lawrence as he was about to take his two daughters to school.
Kathy Auchenbach, 34 is charged with lying to the grand jury while it was investigating the murder.
She allegedly told the grand jury that she had not had any contact with Hickson since 1984. Other witnesses, however, testified taht she met with him on the day of the slaying.
Perjury hearing is continued for the widow of Auchenbach
READING TIMES
September 29, 1987
Ambush recalled by girl
A 12-year old girl testified Monday in Berks County Court that she saw her father shot three times by a man who had been waiting across the street from their St. Lawrence home.
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READING TIMES
October 2, 1987
Triggerman scare interrupts murder trial
A Berks County Court murder trial came to a sudden but temporary halt Thursday when prospective trial witnesses thought they saw the still - at - large alleged triggerman in the slaying enter the courtroom.
The trial resumed 45 minutes later after authorities checked the seats in the courtroom with metal detectors. Nothing was found, officials said.
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Michael Auchenbach
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