LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police have charged three suspects with the kidnapping and murder of a Lancaster County man earlier this year.
The victim in the case, 25-year-old Matthew Whisman of East Drumore Township, was reported missing in April.
Through further investigation, police charged three suspects in his murder:
- Alexander Whisman, of Lancaster
- Steven Gaddis, of Nottingham, Chester County
- Jeremy Absher, of Mayesville, South Carolina
All three suspects are charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping, assault, witness intimidation and other offenses relating to the murder.
Alexander Whisman, one of the three suspects charged in the murder of Matthew Whisman, is the victim's 17-year-old cousin, according to an update in the case provided by the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office Friday afternoon.
According to District Attorney Heather Adams, Alexander Whisman and suspects Steven Gaddis, 27, and Jeremy Absher, 25, are each charged with 11 offenses in connection to Matthew Whisman's disappearance in April and subsequent murder.
The trio is accused of conspiring to assault, kidnap, and murder Matthew Whisman, who intended to cooperate with a law enforcement investigation of a shots-fired incident that occurred in Maryland last January.
Absher is also a cousin of Matthew and Alexander Whisman, Adams said.
An investigation into Matthew Whisman's disappearance determined that Alexander Whisman and Absher assaulted Matthew Whisman inside a residence in the 1100 block of Lancaster Pike in East Drumore Township the night of April 3 after Gaddis had learned that Matthew Whisman had been communicating with police about the shots fired incident.
The three then forced Matthew Whisman into a vehicle and injected him with a lethal dose of fentanyl, killing him. Gaddis and Absher then threw the victim’s remains off a bridge.
Human remains discovered downstream near a hiking trail in Cecil County, Maryland in August were later confirmed to be those of Matthew Whisman, Adams said.
Police began searching for Matthew Whisman in July after his mother told state police she hadn’t heard from him in months. One witness told investigators he knew something “horrible” had happened to Matthew Whisman and that Alexander Whisman, Gaddis and Absher were responsible, Adams said.
Absher later moved to Mayesville, South Carolina after Matthew Whisman’s disappearance but was extradited to Lancaster County Prison on unrelated charges.
Alexander Whisman, of the 300 block of East New Street in Lancaster city, is currently incarcerated in Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center on charges related to a shots-fired incident in Lancaster last month.
Gaddis, of Pocopson Township, Chester County, is currently incarcerated in Chester County Prison on unrelated charges.
The investigation is ongoing, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police at (717) 299-7650.
