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Met Opera Star's Son Locked Up For Alleged Rape/Murder
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 10, 2009
Modified Aug 10, 2009
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 10, 2009
Modified Aug 10, 2009
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Back in the summer of 1991 a Florida college student, Lynne Ronning (pictured), was working as a counselor at a camp in the Poconos. On a day off, the 24-year-old walked to a waterfall, where she was shot in the head "at point-blank range" and raped "as she lay dying," the NY Post recalls. Police found her body the next morning, "posed in a degrading sexual position" with "numerous defensive wounds." It was long suspected that Jeffrey Plishka, son of Metropolitan Opera star Paul Plishka, was guilty (the family had a home nearby the Pennsylvania camp), but it wasn't until now that DNA evidence has connected him with the horrific crime. The paper reports that the 46-year-old has been getting around courtesy of his dad's help, moving to the various family homes around the country for 18 years—one friend says, "The family has done everything it can to keep him off the radar"—which made the investigation more difficult. Plishka, who maintains his innocence, is being held without bail in Pennsylvania, jailed "on multiple counts of murder, as well as attempted rape and deviate sexual intercourse." Prosecutors are considering whether to ask for the death penalty.
Tagged
dna
Jeffrey Plishka
Lynne Ronning
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Metrpolitan Opera
murder
Paul Plishka
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Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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