A Trust Betrayed: The Disappearance of Ashley Kline
In the final days of 2013, 23-year-old Ashley Kline told her family she was heading out to help a friend prepare for a New Year's Eve party. Her father, Michael Kline, had no reason to doubt her story, assuming she would later stay over at her friend Lana's house as she often did. Tragically, he would never see his daughter alive again.
Ashley, who had suffered brain damage from lead poisoning as a child, was described by relatives as a happy, loving, but naive and overly trusting young woman, with a mental age of around 15. This trusting nature would lead her into a fatal trap set by people she considered friends.
A Brutal Ordeal in the Pennsylvania Woods
Instead of going to a party, Ashley had agreed to go to the cinema with 20-year-old Ryan Matthew Schannauer, a family friend. She had previously rebuffed his romantic advances, preferring to remain friends. Once she was in his car on December 30, Schannauer drove her to the remote Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, where he was joined by his accomplice, 21-year-old Adam Morning Star Lynch.
The two men subjected Ashley to a savage and premeditated attack. Schannauer raped her inside the car before forcing her out. Together, the pair then beat and stabbed her repeatedly. In a final, horrific act, they doused her in petrol and set her on fire while she was still breathing, as confirmed by soot found in her lungs during the post-mortem examination.
Discovery, Investigation, and a Grisly Return
The crime began to unravel in the first days of January 2014, when a jogger on a New Year's run spotted a pink Ugg boot half-buried in mud in the woodland. Nearby lay a small pink handbag containing Ashley's ID card. She had been reported missing days earlier.
The investigation quickly led to Schannauer and Lynch. Damning evidence was found in Lynch's car, including a broken necklace belonging to Ashley and the imprint of her pink Ugg boot on a window. CCTV also showed a man matching Lynch's description buying petrol in a jerry can near the crime scene.
Under questioning, each man blamed the other for the murder. The crucial breakthrough came from Lynch's girlfriend, who revealed she had been in the car when the two men returned to the scene on January 8 in a second, failed attempt to burn Ashley's corpse completely.
Justice Served, But Questions Remain
Prosecutors outlined a motive rooted in Schannauer's jealousy and rage after Ashley rejected him. The pair had plotted the murder for months. Both men were charged with homicide, arson, abuse of a corpse, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
Facing the death penalty, Schannauer and Lynch negotiated a plea deal, confessing to their crimes in exchange for life sentences without the possibility of parole. In court, when asked why he committed the murder, Schannauer could only say, "I don't have an explanation for it."
District Attorney Craig W. Stedman called the case "one of the most horrific crimes we have had in our history." Assistant District Attorney Christopher Lechner told the Lancaster County court that Ashley's trust in Schannauer had led to her death, a betrayal he hoped the murderer would think about every day for the rest of his life. Eleven years on, both men remain behind bars.
