The family pet, a Saint Bernard named Heidi, was shot with a .22 pistol and thrown in the basement.

Kathy Abt, only 13 years old, entered the house, while her brother, John, Jr., 12 years old, played outside. Within seconds, she was dead. Surprised by an intruder, she was shot in the face at close range with a .22 caliber gun. Then, with her coat still on, Kathy's dead body was dragged to the basement.

A few minutes later, John entered the house and met the same fate.

Sometime later, Margaret Abt, their mother, returned home. As she entered the home, she was killed and her body tossed in the basement along with those of the two children and the dog.

Shortly before 5 pm, another daughter, Margie Abt, 19, returned home and wound up in the basement, dead and alongside the others.

Around 5:15, John Abt, Sr., 49, father and husband, returned home from his job. Within seconds, his was the fifth body in the basement.

Almost 2 hours later, around 7 pm, Garson "Gary" Engle, 20, arrived at the house to take Margie Abt, his girlfriend, out on a date. It was their 2-year anniversary of dating. Gary wanted the night to be special.

Instead, he was the final victim that evening.

But it isn't. It's the true story of what was termed "the worst mass murder in Bucks Co. history".

He went to a neighbor's house to ask if they knew where his family was. The cars were there, but nobody was home. Did someone get hurt and go to the hospital? That would explain the blood.

The neighbor didn't know, so he stopped a passing, neighborhood policeman and the three of them entered the house together.

Shortly, the officer opened the door to the basement. What he saw took him back.

Six bodies lay in front of him.

On Wed., March 17th, the five victims were put to rest in St. Dominic's cemetery in Phila. Five hundred people attended the funerals, which were held in the same church where John and Margaret Abt were married.

The jailed brother was allowed to attend the funeral. Because of the family tragedy, he was released from his jail sentence the next day.

All six victims were surprised as they walked in the door. Each one was shot in the face at close range with a .22 caliber gun. Then the body was dragged down to the basement.

The murders were spread out over a period of 6 hours. What kind of person could do this?

Was it a psychopathic killing? A "revenge" killing? A drug-related incident? It was rumored that one of the family was involved in drugs.

(The "drug angle" later proved to be incorrect, and any involvement in "drugs" was vehemently denied by the family member. But at the time, it seemed like a plausible theory.)

Was there one killer? Or two? Why Gary Engle? He wasn't an Abt family member. Was he mistaken for one of the brothers?

For 9 days the police followed leads, but had little luck. They had no sure answers.

But then, a stroke of luck...

In the shallow, clear water, he saw a gun and called the police.

The police traced the .22 caliber pistol. A few weeks earlier, it had been reported missing by a local resident. He happened to be a neighbor of the Abts.

Then they tested the gun and found it was the murder weapon.

Geschwendt - 1970 Yearbook

He was described as a 24 year old "loner". He stayed home much of the time and didn't seem to have an interest in women. He was "quiet and withdrawn", and known as "a very strange dude". One person said he seemed a little "slow".

As a child, he grew up with the Abt children. In their younger years, they played together. He graduated high school in the same class as one of the Abt sons.

After high school, he enlisted in the Navy. And on his discharge from the service, he enrolled in Bucks Co. Community College and graduated with a degree in Business Administration.

In the beginning of March, George bought a .22 caliber pistol. Two hours later, he reported it stolen.

Seven days after the gun was reported missing, six people in the Abt home were murdered with the exact same weapon.

On March 22nd, 1976, ten days after the mass murder, George Geschwendt was arrested.

Geschwendt Being Led from the Courthouse

The prosecution pled the details of the crime; the length of time over which he did the killing, the cold, brutality of the six murders.

They told of how he hid the gun and rubber gloves he wore in the saddlebags of his motorcycle. Of how he washed his blood-stained clothes, then donated them to Goodwill Industries.

While admitting that he did the killing, Geschwendt's attorney pled an "insanity" defense. He weaved tales of a drunken father and an abused childhood; tales of failed dreams and a split personality.

Geschwendt's confession told of how he felt the Abt children teased and laughed at him. Of how they played "phone tricks" on him, and shot at his house with a BB-gun. "I didn't want to hurt anybody, but they made me", he said, showing his twisted logic.

On July 19th, 1976, after 8 days of trial, it took the jury less than 30 minutes to convict George Geschwendt of six counts of Guilty of Murder in the First-Degree.

Later that day, he received six verdicts of Death.

One of the most frightening things about this case is a comment he made to police at his confession. It concerned the two surviving members of the Abt family.

"I wish I had gotten the other two."

In November, 1991, he appealed his conviction on "due process violations". He claimed his jury was not told they could find him "not guilty by reason of insanity" which is different from "not guilty".

Bucks Co. District Attorney Alan Rubenstein was stunned that 15 years later, the case would come back to haunt the county. "There has to be some finality to criminal convictions".

In June, 1992, Geschwendt's appeal was denied.

He is serving his sentence at the state correctional institution at Dallas, Pa.