LEHIGHTON, Pa. – A Pennsylvania man wearing a facsimile horror movie “Scream” mask is accused of murdering his neighbor using a knife and a chainsaw, according to law enforcement authorities.
The slaughtered murder victim was identified as 59-year-old Edward Whitehead Jr. He was found gravely injured at his residence in the 200 block of Carbon St., Lehighton, Monday afternoon.
Law enforcement authorities first responded to the scene about 3:30 p.m. after Whitehead was discovered with disfiguring cuts on his head and arm as well as defensive wounds to his hands, Pennsylvania State Police said.
Whitehead was rushed to St. Luke’s Carbon County Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
Trooper Anthony Petroski said the victim had been “struck multiple times with a knife and a battery-operated chainsaw,” WFMZ reported.
Moreover, Petroski noted, “The suspect was wearing an all-black outfit, consisting of a mask of the ‘Scream’ character from a movie from a few years ago.”
Zak Moyer, 30, lived next door to Whitehead. Investigators quickly focused on him as a suspect when he was seen on surveillance footage leaving the back of the decedent’s residence, Lehigh Valley Live reported, citing police officials.
“This was not just a random attack. They did know each other,” said Petroski.
A neighbor across the street said police surrounded Moyer’s house and called for him to surrender. At one point, the neighbor, who was recording the incident, zoomed in on a note that Moyer was placing in the window for police to read.
The noted reportedly said, “Ed murdered women and kids. Eddie Junior murdered women and kids last summer.”
Petroski said the far-fetched allegations are “not something we are looking into” when speaking with Lehigh Valley Live.
Moyer eventually surrendered, wearing a red hoodie rather than the “Scream” outfit he allegedly wore during the horrific attack, the New York Post reported.
Moyer’s sister told police he had been talking about killing his neighbor a week prior.
Following the grisly homicide, Moyer reportedly went home to watch a movie while waiting for officers to arrive, according to police records.
During a search of Moyer’s home, police found a hidden battery-operated chainsaw, a knife, and the costume apparently worn by the suspect as he reportedly killed his neighbor.
Moyer has an injured eye that shows in his booking photo. The injury occurred as the victim tried to defend himself, police said.
Whitehead’s niece, Megan Bernosky, referred to the homicide as “mind-numbing.”
“I don’t think anybody has truly had it all sink in at this point. What actually occurred and what happened, it’s been horrible,” she told WNEP.
Moyer was charged with murder and booked at the Carbon County Jail, where he is being held without bail. He was arraigned before District Judge Eric Schrantz and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 3.
