Caleb Fairley
Encyclopedia
Caleb Fairley is an American murderer from Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
.
. Just before closing time Lisa Manderach (born September 30, 1965) and her 19-month-old daughter Devon (born February 4, 1994) entered the store. Fairley locked the doors to the store when he realized that they were the only customers present. He then attempted to sexually assault Ms. Manderach. When she attempted to resist him, he became enraged and strangled her to death. He also strangled Ms. Manderach's infant daughter. After the murder he sexually assaulted Ms. Manderach's corpse, before going to an Electric Hellfire Club
concert that he had been planning to attend that night.
A search of Fairley's room in his mother's house revealed an extensive collection of pornography and a black sweatshirt that depicted an image of a vampire attacking a young woman that bore a striking resemblance to Lisa Manderach. Based on this, detectives began to suspect that upon seeing Manderach in the store, Fairley, an avid fan of vampire culture, thought of his sweatshirt and took Manderach's appearance as a sort of supernatural message. He then proceeded to act out his fantasies upon Manderach and her daughter.
When police questioned Fairley, he was wearing a thick coat of makeup on his face. When detectives told him to wipe it off, his face was covered with obvious scratch marks. When this was pointed out to Fairley by authorities, he said that he had received them in a mosh pit while attending an Electric Hellfire Club
concert, at a local club called the Asylum. When hikers discovered Devon Manderach's strangled body dumped on a hill at Valley Forge National Park, Fairley was charged with murder
. Fairley entered a plea bargain
in which prosecutors would not seek the death penalty if he would show them the location of Lisa Manderach's body.
Fairley was tried in April 1996 and convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, for which he received two life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at a state correctional facility in LaBelle, Pennsylvania.
Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
Gulph Mills is an unincorporated community in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is served by the Upper Merion Area School District....
.
Crime
On September 10, 1995, Fairley was working alone at Your Kidz & Mine, a children's clothing store owned by his parents in Collegeville, PennsylvaniaCollegeville, Pennsylvania
Collegeville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia on the Perkiomen Creek. Collegeville was incorporated in 1896. It is the seat of Ursinus College, opened in 1869...
. Just before closing time Lisa Manderach (born September 30, 1965) and her 19-month-old daughter Devon (born February 4, 1994) entered the store. Fairley locked the doors to the store when he realized that they were the only customers present. He then attempted to sexually assault Ms. Manderach. When she attempted to resist him, he became enraged and strangled her to death. He also strangled Ms. Manderach's infant daughter. After the murder he sexually assaulted Ms. Manderach's corpse, before going to an Electric Hellfire Club
Electric Hellfire Club
The Electric Hellfire Club is an industrial metal band mixing elements of glam metal, techno, gothic rock, psychedelia, black metal lyrical themes and experimental noise...
concert that he had been planning to attend that night.
Arrest and trial
Unbeknownst to Fairley, Lisa Manderach had told her husband exactly where she was going. When she did not return he contacted local police, who found her car parked outside. A search of Your Kidz & Mine revealed stacks of pornography stained with what appeared to be blood and long black hairs consistent with Manderach's. Similar hairs were found in the store's vacuum cleaner. Also present was a large damp spot on the carpet that was later determined to be saliva. The police also noted that peepholes had been drilled into the dressing rooms.A search of Fairley's room in his mother's house revealed an extensive collection of pornography and a black sweatshirt that depicted an image of a vampire attacking a young woman that bore a striking resemblance to Lisa Manderach. Based on this, detectives began to suspect that upon seeing Manderach in the store, Fairley, an avid fan of vampire culture, thought of his sweatshirt and took Manderach's appearance as a sort of supernatural message. He then proceeded to act out his fantasies upon Manderach and her daughter.
When police questioned Fairley, he was wearing a thick coat of makeup on his face. When detectives told him to wipe it off, his face was covered with obvious scratch marks. When this was pointed out to Fairley by authorities, he said that he had received them in a mosh pit while attending an Electric Hellfire Club
Electric Hellfire Club
The Electric Hellfire Club is an industrial metal band mixing elements of glam metal, techno, gothic rock, psychedelia, black metal lyrical themes and experimental noise...
concert, at a local club called the Asylum. When hikers discovered Devon Manderach's strangled body dumped on a hill at Valley Forge National Park, Fairley was charged with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Fairley entered a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
in which prosecutors would not seek the death penalty if he would show them the location of Lisa Manderach's body.
Fairley was tried in April 1996 and convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, for which he received two life sentences. He is currently incarcerated at a state correctional facility in LaBelle, Pennsylvania.