September 8, 2024, Grandparents Day, is the 54th anniversary of John W. Leonard, Sr. unsolved murder. This is a day none of John and Madeleine Leonard’s grandchildren has ever got to spend with their Grandparents. This is the day the five siblings under the age of 18 of John and Madeleine Leonard’s lives were turned upside down and they all had to turn from being a teenager to an adult overnight without a say as to what their lives should have been. Imagine finding out both your parents were murdered and you are not an adult yet. How would you cope? How would you survive? How would you live your life? This is what happened to the 5 Leonard children under the age of 18. They had to turn from children and teenagers, to adults overnight with no warning whatsoever. The 5 Leonard children had strong morals and ethics which was taught to them by both parents and having their strong faith is what kept them all together in order to survive and take care of each other.
We began investigating our parent’s murders on our own two years ago because the police and newspaper articles did not show an accurate portrayal of the timeline of events or proper investigation of the crimes. The police never indicated a motive for the murders, any persons of interest, or any factual timelines, nor any desire to work the cases without being prompted by the family. This continues today as the authorities have no desire to work the cases to a solution or involve the family who has provided valid leads and facts relevant to both of these cases.
On May 20, 2024, following leads from witnesses, we sent the following email to District Attorney Michael Mancuso, Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac, and Cold Case Investigator for the District Attorney’s office Craig VanLouvender.
“John Leonard was NOT murdered at Buck Hill Falls Inn but shot elsewhere and brought to Buck Hill Falls Inn. This all happened prior to 11:30 a.m. on September 8, 1970. Also, your timeline is wrong as the driveway to Buck Hill Falls Inn was completely roped off by police prior to 1:15 p.m.”
This is why no one heard gun shots, no shell casings were found at the scene, and numerous wounds indicating two shooters were involved. To date, none of them have responded questioning any of the information provided by witnesses.
The family has interviewed witnesses who confirmed the timeline being hours earlier than the police reported and also indicated there are persons of interest who were never looked at by the police or district attorney’s office as suspects.
On Thursday, February 22, 1973, our Mom, Madeleine G. Leonard, waitressed a Rotary dinner at the Top Hat (now Pour House), Mountainhome, PA. She called home at 10 p.m. and said to her Twin Daughters, “I have a tip on your Dad’s murder and am going to Mt. Pocono to check it out.” We asked her to take us with her and she said no that she would be alright. She never came home again. We have recently found out that Madeleine G. Leonard was lured out by someone she trusted to meet him at Tinker Hollow where she went and met her death.
Chief Hartman “told the children he was investigating Madeleine’s accident as a homicide and the case is linked to your father’s murder” which the Monroe County DA and PA State Police continue to deny and ignore any foul play ever existed. Chief Hartman told the family that “Madeleine was involved in a brutal struggle as evidenced by bruising and multiple injuries not consistent with an auto accident. She also had hand mark imprints on her neck”. The funeral director demanded a high neck collar blouse to cover Madeleine’s neck up to the jawline. Her purse straps were broken. Her necklace was broken. Chief Hartman found that Madeleine’s coat was jammed into the steering wheel to make the car go down the embankment. The newspaper articles, along with the accident report, said Madeleine’s head impacted the passenger side of the windshield. She was pinned between the floorboards and the glove compartment as the transmission came up and pinned her in the car, and they said she was not wearing a seatbelt. The accident report also says that Madeleine’s head was resting on the right side of the dashboard. This is a clear indication Madeleine was not driving the vehicle. The death certificate signed by a doctor indicates Madeleine died from a crushed and broken neck between C3 and C4 which Coroner Yanac said, “this is not consistent with this type of accident”. The report also said Madeleine’s car was found by a passing motorist, which we considered odd, because even the newspapers said the car was covered by felled foliage and could not be seen from the road. The police also found white paint transfer and a damaged rear bumper on her vehicle showing she’d been deliberately pushed off the road and down the embankment. The police also found another set of tire tracks and skid marks indicating Madeleine’s car was pushed down at least 67 feet. One of the witnesses stated “Madeleine Leonard was murdered because she found out something about John Leonard’s murder and was going to the police.”
Another turn to this story is both John and Madeleine’s boss, Don Mick told the children that they were their Foster Parents and the children had no reason to doubt that at the time. The Mick’s even had the community believe they were fostering the 5 Leonard children and nothing could be further from the truth. However, 54 years later, the last surviving daughters discovered the Mick’s were not their Foster Parents as verified by Children and Youth Services of Monroe County, PA.
After our Mom’s murder in 1973, we were all orphaned and all alone and had to find jobs for all of us. Don Mick never provided any monetary support to us five Leonard children, and he lied about fostering us our entire lives. Don Mick also required us to do chores to take care of the bar and the garage without pay to make sure everything was clean and orderly for that business day. Most of these tasks had to be performed before we all went to school every day. Even though we were minors, we also had to find other jobs after school and on weekends to pay the rent and utilities to Don Mick. We even had to work to support ourselves with food and medical expenses in order to stay together in the apartment above Mick’s garage while going to school. We never received any monetary assistance from anyone, not even the State or County. This may be why our friends and acquaintances faded from our lives and became withdrawn contacts years later, and a once long time friend recently told us “why don’t you just let it go”?
We don’t know who benefited from John and Madeleine’s murders, but no financial assistance ever came to the Leonard children following both family tragedies.
If anyone has any information regarding these two unsolved murders, please email the Leonard Family in confidence to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Privacy is guaranteed. Further details of the story can be found on Our Go Fund Me Page: Exhumation & Solving Two Unsolved Murders in One Family
Any financial assistance/support is greatly appreciated, so please help us further our investigation with new leads, facts, and witnesses.
