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Aug 21, 2008 3:58 pm US/Eastern
Arrest Made In Decades Old Murder Of Teen
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, Pa. (AP) ―
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The body of David Reed, 13, was found in December 1985.
CBS
Police have arrested a man in the 1985 killing of a 13-year-old eastern Pennsylvania boy, who apparently was killed over stolen marijuana plants.
Forty-three-year-old Joseph Geiger was charged today with murder in the death of David Reed, of Schuylkill Haven. Geiger is unemployed and lives nearby in Pottsville. He was arrested on the 23rd anniversary of Reed's disappearance.
In a 13-page affidavit, state police made a startling revelation: Reed was not simply a boy out for a bicycle ride who vanished one summer night. He was a pot-smoker who Geiger believed was stealing his marijuana plants.
In interviews, Geiger gave changing stories, but police believe he confronted the boy about the missing marijuana plants after they went into a parked caboose to smoke pot. Geiger was 20 at the time. Police believe he punched Reed in the face, causing Reed to fall backward into a metal wall and possibly cracking the back of his skull.
Geiger was arrested by state police as he left his home. He was arraigned Thursday afternoon on charges of third-degree murder and related counts. On his way into court Geiger said, "I didn't do it."
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